WEBSTER GROVES - Webster University closed out the regular season portion of its schedule here Saturday by posting a 9-0 victory over Principia College in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at the Webster Groves Tennis Center.
With the win, Webster improves to 10-5 overall and completes league play with a perfect 5-0 record and earns the No. 1 seed in this coming week's SLIAC Tournament at Dwight Davis Tennis Center at Forest Park. Principia falls to 3-6 overall and 3-2 in the SLIAC.
Prior to Saturday's match, the Gorloks honored its four seniors. The four seniors this year are
Monica Behrle (Atlanta, Ga./East Paulding),
Robin Bolme (Smyrna, Tenn./Blackman),
Jesse Steffens-Willis (St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) and
Jordan Struckman (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell).
In Saturday's match, the Gorloks opened by winning all three doubles matches as they lost a total of two games in the three doubles matches.
Junior
Sara Rice (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) and freshman
Maggie Federhofer (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) posted an 8-0 win at No. 2 doubles, while Steffens-Willis and Bolme won 8-1 at the No. 3 spot and Behrle and junior
Madison Watts (Rogersville, Mo./Logan Rogersville) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-1 win at the No. 1 spot. Behrle and Watts improved to 13-5 on the season in doubles, including going 5-0 in SLIAC play.
Meanwhile, in singles play, the Gorloks were just as dominant as they lost a combined 10 games in singles for the match en route to posting its fourth 9-0 win of the season.
In singles, Behrle got things started as she gave the Gorloks a 4-0 lead in the match as they blanked Grace Buchanan at the No. 1 spot, 6-0, 6-0. With that win, Behrle improved her season record to 16-5 in singles, including a 12-3 mark at the No. 1 singles spot.
Rice scored the fifth point for the Gorloks with her 6-0 6-0 win at the No. 4 spot over Principia's Sarah Switzer. Rice improved her record to 11-4 on the season, including being 10-1 at the No. 4 spot.
Webster's sixth point of the match was scored by Watts as she collected a 6-0, 6-2 win over Hallie Jones at the No. 2 spot. Watts moved her record to 9-10 on the season and 8-5 at the No. 2 spot.
Federhofer picked up the next point for the Gorloks as she won 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot over Dani Lomascolo, while Struckman picked up the eighth point for the Gorloks with her 6-2, 6-1 win at the No. 6 spot over Amber Heady. Federhofer improved her record to 8-7 on the season, while Struckman is now 2-0 on the year in singles.
The final point of the match was won by Steffens-Willis at the No. 3 spot as she defeated Principia's Olivia Kasprzyk, 6-4, 6-0 to move her season record to 10-7 in singles, including a 9-3 mark at the No. 3 spot.
Webster will return to action this coming Friday, April 27 at 2 p.m. in the SLIAC Tournament. The championship match of the SLIAC Tournament is scheduled for 11 a.m. in Saturday, April 28.
