The SVSU women’s tennis team improved its record to 2-1 this weekend, beating Purdue University Northwest and Davenport University.
The weekend also marked the beginning of GLIAC play with the Cardinals finishing 2-0 in conference play.
After dropping their first match of the season on Sept. 10 against Hillsdale, the Lady Cardinals came back with a strong victory against Purdue Northwest on Sept. 16, winning with a 9-0 sweep.
The doubles pair of senior Shae Donahue and sophomore Taylor McLaughlin earned their first victory of the season. Both players were also victorious in their singles matches.
Donahue expected the team to bounce back after last week’s loss after preparing and practicing throughout the week.
“I am not surprised that we had such a good match,” Donahue said. “We trained and prepared hard this past week. We worked hard on our doubles with the goal to win all three doubles positions. We came together and stayed very confident.”
Earlier in the week, head coach Jenn Boehm also emphasized importance on the three doubles positions. The weekend was also the team’s first matches against PNW and Davenport, the GLIAC’s two newest teams.
“We have three completely different doubles combinations [compared to last season] who only have one match under their belts,” Boehm said. “Most of our players have not competed against either team. It helps focus on improving ourselves and not worrying about who is on the other side of the net.”
Senior Danielle Slonac and sophomore Madeline Miller won their doubles match 8-3. Both Slonac and Miller won their singles competition.
Freshmen duo Maya Campbell and Joanne Gao won their second straight doubles match and notched their first wins in singles competition.
“We had never played against PNW before, so we didn’t really know what to expect,” Donahue said. “All we wanted to do was go in and be aggressive and put into play what we had been working on the past week.”
The team welcomed Davenport on Sunday, Sept. 17. The Cardinals only dropped one match, winning 8-1. Davenport had to forfeit three of the nine matches due to a lack of players.
Donahue and McLaughlin dropped their doubles match 9-8. Both were able to rebound with victories in their singles play. Donahue won in two sets 6-2, 6-4. McLaughlin won 6-4, 6-2.
Campbell and Gao improved to 3-0 as a doubles team after their 8-6 win. Both players won their singles competition by default.
Miller and Slonac won their individual matches while their doubles match was forfeited. Miller only dropped two games, winning 6-1 in both sets. Slonac lost only one game in her two sets.
“We knew (Davenport) would be a competent team so we went in strong and determined to start the GLIAC season on a great note,” Donahue said.
The tennis team will be competing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association tournament from Friday, Sept. 22, through Sunday, Sept. 24, in Midland.
