WEBSTER GROVES - On a sunny Friday afternoon here, the Webster University women's tennis team stepped onto the court  here the Webster Groves Tennis Center at the Webster Groves Recreational Complex for their first match of the 2018 spring season against Shawnee State University. A few hours later, they walked away with their first win of the season. 

The Gorloks (1-1 on the year) started their spring campaign off strong with a 9-0 sweep over Shawnee State University (SSU).

"It was a great start to the season," Webster senior Jesse Steffens-Willis said following her team's win. "These girls are ready to close out."
 
Friday's dominant performance began with doubles as senior Monica Behrle (Atlanta, Ga./East Paulding) and junior Madison Watts (Rogersville, Mo./Logan Rogersville) teamed up at No. 1 doubles to post an easy 8-2 win. 

At the No. 2 spot, senior Steffens-Willis (St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) and junior Sara Rice (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) had a closer match as they won 8-6. Meanwhile, at the No. 3 spot, freshman Maggie Federhofer (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) and senior Robin Bolme (Smyrna, Tenn./Blackman) posted an 8-2 win.

With three doubles wins in the book, the Gorloks carried their momentum into singles. Three players (Behrle at #1, Rice at #4, Bolme at #6) didn't give up a single game. Bolme had an exciting game that went to deuce 13 times before she won it at the No. 6 spot.
 
Steffens-Willis, who played at the No. 3 spot, also had a commanding win. She gave up only one game in the first set before winning the rest, 6-1, 6-0. At the No. 5 spot, Federhofer went 6-1, 6-3 in another strong performance.
 
That left Watts at the No. 2 singles spot. She pulled ahead in the first set 6-2. But in the second set, her opponent didn't let up and won it 6-4 to force a tiebreaker. In the 10-point tiebreaker, both players traded points, before Watts locked it down and pulled ahead to post a 10-6 to complete the sweep for the Gorloks.
 
"There's definitely room for improvement with this being our first match," Watts said. "But everyone worked hard, and it looks like we're going to have a great season."
 
Webster will return to the courts on Saturday, March 3 as they host Bethel College in a 10 a.m. match at the Webster Groves Tennis Center at the Webster Groves Recreational Complex.