Results
ORLANDO, FLA. – The St. Catherine University tennis team has found its stride. After starting the season with a 2-4 record, the Wildcats are now the winners of eight straight dual matches, thanks to their 6-3 victory over Calvin College on Thursday.
Despite the final score, St. Kate's found itself in trouble after doubles play, as the team lost two of three matches to fall behind 1-2. The Wildcats No. 1 doubles team of
Alicia Knoll (Waseca, Minn. / Waseca) and
Bri Dorr (Princeton, Minn. / Princeton) fought valiantly against the Knights No. 1 team of Claire Spoelhof and Ellie Benzel but fell in the tiebreak 9-8 (7-4). Similarly,
Aubrey Eckstrom (St. James, Minn. / St. James) and
Leah Obert (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) battled as the Wildcats No. 3 team but fell 8-5 to Jessica Bouma and Micaela Seazzu.
St. Kate's No. 2 doubles team of
Julia Sporer (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) and
Alisha Wiedmeier (Rapid City, S. D. / Stevens) earned St. Kate's lone win in doubles with an 8-4 win over Liz Turner and Lark Foote. That winning momentum carried over to their singles matches, as both Sporer and Wiedmeier won their respective singles matches. As the Wildcats No. 2 singles player, Wiedmeier earned a crucial point for her team with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-5 victory while Sporer won her 10
th singles match of the year 6-3, 6-2.
Knoll and Obert both had better luck in singles play later in the afternoon. As St. Kate's No. 1 singles player, Knoll won in dominating fashion, 6-3, 6-2 over Spoelhof to earn another point for the Wildcats while Obert defeated Kari Kroeze 6-0, 6-3.
No. 5 singles player
Jessica Duda (St. Michael, Minn. / St. Michael-Albertville) earned a point for St. Kate's thanks to a come-from-behind win in singles play. After losing the first set 7-5 to Anna Asfour, Duda bounced back to force a tiebreaker with a 6-3 win in set two. The tiebreaker came down to the final two points, but Duda was able to prevail, winning the set 5-7, 6-3, 10-8.
Thanks to the 6-3 win, the Wildcats are now 9-4 this season and still hold their 4-2 record in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. St. Kate's will return to Minnesota on Friday and will take on Saint Mary's University on March 30.
