ST. LOUIS - Webster University closed out its 2018-19 season here Saturday afternoon by posting a 5-3 victory over Westminster (Mo.) College in the third place match of the 2019 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament at Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park.
With the win, Webster completes the season with a 7-9 overall record and finishes third in the SLIAC Tournament, while Westminster ends its season with a 3-10 overall record and finishes fourth in the tournament.
In Saturday's match, the Gorloks opened by winning two of the three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Gorloks wins in doubles came at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots as sophomore
Maggie Federhofer (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) and freshman
Emma Ferguson (Troy, Mo./Troy Buchanan) won at No. 2 doubles 8-4 over Natlie Tiffany and Grace Northcott, while freshmen
Navone Armstrong (St. Louis, Mo./McCluer North) and
Addie Struckman (O'Fallon, Mo./Francis Howell) picked up an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles over Allison Frisella and Isabel O'Neil.
With their win at No. 2 doubles, Federhofer and Ferguson closed the season winning six straight doubles matches and posted a 6-1 record on the season, while Armstrong and Struckman closed the season with a 5-2 record in doubles.
Perhaps the match of the day, though, came at No. 1 doubles as seniors
Sara Rice (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) and
Madison Watts (Rogersville, Mo./Logan Rogersville) battled point-for-point with Westminster's No. 1 team of Sydney Attebery and Clara Baldwin as they needed a tiebreaker to settle the match. Attebery and Baldwin would ultimatly prevail over Watts and Rice, 8-7, after winning the tiebreaker, 7-3.
With Webster holding a 2-1 lead after doubles, Webster only need to win three singles matches to pick up the victory.
In singles action, Westminster picked up wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles, while Webster won at No. 3 and No. 4 singles to take a 4-3 lead in the match.
At No. 3 singles, Federhofer picked up a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tiffany and Ferguson earned a hard-fought 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles over Northcott.
The Blue Jays wins in singles came from Elenda Thomas-Deitz at the No. 6 spot as she defeated Struckman, 6-0, 6-3 and Attebery picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win at the No. 1 spot over Rice. Rice ended the season with a 5-9 mark in singles and closed out career with 39 singles wins and 36 doubles wins.
With Webster holding a 4-3 lead, the match came down to No. 5 singles as Armstong sealed the Gorloks win as she posted a 6-0, 6-4 win over Maddy Gipe. In her first collegiate season, Armstrong finished with a 9-9 record in singles and ended the season winning six consecutive matches.
Armstrong's win meant that Watts' match at No. 2 singles against Baldwin would not be completed. Watts had won the first set, 7-6 (7-1) and the two players were tied a 2-2 in the second set when Armstrong won her match at the No. 5 spot. Watts closed the season with a 7-0 mark in singles and she is just the sixth player in school history to finish with an undefeated record in singles play. Watts finished with 30 singles wins and 43 doubles wins in her four year Gorlok career.
Saturday's match marked the final one for Rice and Watts, who were the Gorloks' lone two seniors this season.
