SAN DIEGO—The Williams women's tennis team kicked off their spring break Sunday with a 6-3 win over Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. Point Loma began their season ranked #9 in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Assoication and play in Division II in NCAA competition.
Williams led 2-1 after doubles play behind wins from their one and three teams. Kara Shoemaker and Rebecca Curran cruised at number one, 8-1, and Nancy Worley and Veranika Li earned an 8-3 win at number three.
Williams used the momentum from doubles play to turn in a strong performance in singles. Kathleen Elkins and Maria Pylypiv avenged their loss in doubles with two strong singles matches. Each lost only one game on their way to straight set victories. Kara Shoemaker also only dropped one game in her win at number one. Alex Stone was the final Eph to win, beating her opponent 6-2, 6-2 at number six.
"Today was a fun day of tennis," commented head coach Alison Swain, "PLNU is a very solid team. We started doubles with a lot of energy and were able to dictate, and then were able to translate much of that momentum into solid singles play."
Next up for the Ephs is a busy Thursday on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, where they will face off against Babson and Vanguard in a doubleheader.
DOUBLES
| 1. Kara Shoemaker/Rebecca Curran (WU-WT) def. Preethika Venugopal/Hope Penner (PLNU-WT) 8-1 |
| 2. Maika Adair/Sharon Reibstein (PLNU-WT) def. Maria Pylypiv/Kathleen Elkins (WU-WT) 8-5 |
| 3. Nancy Worley/Veranika Li (WU-WT) def. Wileen Chiu/Kiersten Steinhauer (PLNU-WT) 8-3 |
SINGLES
| 1. Kara Shoemaker (WU-WT) def. Maika Adair (PLNU-WT) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 2. Hope Penner (PLNU-WT) def. Rebecca Curran (WU-WT) 7-6, 6-1 |
| 3. Kathleen Elkins (WU-WT) def. Wileen Chiu (PLNU-WT) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 4. Sharon Reibstein (PLNU-WT) def. Nancy Worley (WU-WT) 6-3, 7-6 |
| 5. Maria Pylypiv (WU-WT) def. Preethika Venugopal (PLNU-WT) 6-0, 6-1 |
6. Alex Stone (WU-WT) def. Kirsty Mountain (PLNU-WT) 6-2, 6-2
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