ST. PETER, Minn. -- The St. Catherine University women's tennis team turned in a gritty weekend of competition at both the ITA Regional and Fall Invite, highlighted by Ashley King's impressive run to the singles final.

Faith Simon opened strong with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Sydney Wiener (UW–River Falls) in the first round before facing eventual quarter finalist Noor Omar of Gustavus. Simon pushed points in long rallies but came up short, 6-1, 6-3, in a hard-fought match.
Marie Pelletier nearly broke through in her opener, battling in one of the tightest matches of the day. She claimed the first set 7-5, dropping the second 7-6 (3), and ultimately fell in the third-set tiebreaker, 10-6, against Jenna Mahoney (Central).

Ashley King provided the Wildcats' biggest highlight, powering through to the championship match of her draw. She rolled past Georgia Haddorff (UW–Stevens Point) 8-3, then delivered a statement quarterfinal win over Grinnell's Nina Perkins 8-6. King's semifinal proved even more dramatic: after trailing 0-3 to Hamline's Chrissa Muller, she stormed back to win 8-6. In the final, King faced Coe College's standout Alliandra Hagness and battled before falling 8-2, finishing with an impressive runner-up showing.
Ryanna Steinhaus competed hard in her opener but dropped an 8-4 decision to Brooklyn Steier (UW–Stevens Point).

In doubles play, the duo of King/Simon played with energy but were edged late, falling 8-5 to UW–River Falls' Lindeman/Reuvers. Pelletier and Lily Holmberg pulled off a comeback thriller in Round 1, rallying from 0-3 down against Gustavus' Klemmensen/Cross. The match was a marathon of long rallies and momentum swings, but the Wildcats broke through in the end with an 8-6 victory. In Round 2, they went up against Luther's top team and ultimately fell 8-3, but not without pushing through extended points.

Melanie Gravdahl and Steinhaus closed out doubles play with a strong showing against Bethany Lutheran's No. 1 pair. Despite an even match throughout, the Wildcats came up just short in a 6-4 loss.

The weekend featured standout moments across the lineup, from King's finals appearance to Pelletier/Holmberg's comeback win. The team has two more matches on Saturday, September 27 traveling to Wisconsin River Falls to face the Falcons and the Yellowjackets form Wisconsin Superior.