The SVSU women’s tennis team swept a pair of home matches this weekend, moving them one game closer to solidifying a spot in the GLIAC tournament.
The Lady Cardinals rolled Ashland 8-1 on Saturday afternoon and continued their momentum Sunday morning, beating Walsh 7-2.
The wins were SVSU’s third- and fourth-consecutive victories and moved the team into fourth place in the GLIAC and improved its record to 5-3 on the season.
Saturday started off with nine tennis alumni being introduced to the crowd before the match, and for the first time ever, a ceremonial first serve signaled the beginning of the day’s match.
After the festivities, the ladies stormed out of the gates, as the duo of Ana Pico Garcia and Shea Donahue won 8-3. The momentum was continued by Abagail Shonk and Taylor Mclaughlin, who put the ladies up 2-0 on the day by a score of 8-4.
The third and final doubles match was won in a blowout of 8-2 by a new pairing, as top player Izabella Ismailova was out, and Mikayla Kazdan filled in seamlessly alongside veteran Danielle Slonac for Mikayla’s first GLIAC victory.
“We had competitive matches, especially at the top of the lineup,” head coach Jenn Boehm said. “Isabella was not in our lineup, so all of our lineup shifted up a spot. … We had to play well in doubles to win all three.”
The Lady Cardinals stormed into singles with a win in straight sets by Garcia. They then went on to win four of their last five matches, with Shonk winning the final match of the day by an impressive score of 6-0 in both sets.
The Lady Cardinals will head south next weekend for matches against Wayne State, which is tied for fourth with SVSU in the GLIAC, and Hillsdale, which is in seventh.
Despite the big victories, Boehm knows her team cannot let down their guard.
“Right now, we are sitting pretty well in terms of a guaranteed spot, but you never know,” the coach said Saturday. “Wonky things can happen, and you don’t want to say you’re in before it’s official. We want to continue building a winning record and continue to solidify our spot in the GLIAC tournament.”
