WEBSTER GROVES - The Webster women's tennis team fell just short here Saturday afternoon 5-4 to Evangel University in a non-conference match at the Webster Groves Tennis Center. 

The match marked Webster's third match of the 2021 season and two of those three matches were decided by identical 5-4 scores.

With the loss, Webster fell to 0-3 on the season, while Evangel improved to 4-3 on the year. 

Webster got off to a strong start in Saturday's match as they took two of the three doubles matches to lead 2-1 heading into singles play. 

The Gorloks doubles win came at No. 1 and No. 3 spots as the No. 1 team of senior Maggie Federhofer (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South) and sophomore Erin Brezovar (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) improved to 2-1 on the season with an 8-4 win over Carly McAtee and Neely Bridges, while the No. 3 team of junior Navone Armstrong (St. Louis, Mo./McCluer North) and freshman Bailey Higgins (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City) picked up their first doubles win as they defeated Kassidy Anderson and Karson Phipps, 8-1. 

Evangel prevented a doubles sweep by the Gorloks as Webster's No. 2 team of senior Alyssa Tourville (Belleville, Ill./Kaskaskia College) and junior Emma Ferguson (Troy, Mo./Troy Buchanan) by a score of 8-6 to Ana Bjelica and Courtney Yates. It was the first time this season that Tourville and Ferguson played doubles together.

Meanwhile, in singles play, Evangel would seal its match win by winning four of six matches as they picked up wins at No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6. 

Webster's two points in singles came from Tourville at the No. 4 spot and Higgins at the No. 5 spot. The win by Higgins' was the first of her collegiate career in singles. 

Tourville picked up a straight sets (6-1, 6-1) win over Yates at No. 4 singles, while Higgins needed a tiebreaker in the second set to post a win at No. 5 singles. At No. 5 singles, Higgins won 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) over Evangel's Bethany Overturf. 

In the four singles matches that Webster lost, the Gorloks won just a total of just 11 games with five of those 11 wins coming from Ferguson at the No. 3 spot over McAtee. McAtee won 6-4, 6-1.

Webster will next be in action on Friday, March 19 as the Gorloks host Illinois College for a 4 p.m. non-conference match at the Webster Groves Tennis Center.