The women’s tennis team began its spring season by competing in four straight road contests.
In the first match of the season, the team traveled to Wisconsin- Green Bay. The Phoenix defeated the Braves 5-2.
Senior Emily Regenold and freshman Kennedy Scott each earned singles wins. Regenold won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 singles while Scott also won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 5 singles.
Seniors Kelly Donohue and Jessica Buterbaugh earned the team’s only doubles win of the match with a 9-8 victory.
A day later, the Braves traveled to Valparaiso University and earned their first win of the season 5-2.
The No. 1 doubles duo of Regenold and junior Nicole Miller won their first doubles match of the season 8-2. Donohue and Buterbaugh moved to 2-0 in doubles action with an 8-2 win.
Regenold, Scott, Buterbaugh Donahue and each won a singles match for the team.
Coach Scott Petersen said he believes his team’s confidence and work ethic helped the team succeed.
“I think the team has a lot of confidence in their games and in their teammates,” he said. “We have pushed ourselves in practice, to best prepare for upcoming matches.”
T h e Braves then traveled to Indianapolis to face Butler University and IUPUI on consecutive days.
The team began the weekend against Butler, losing 7-0. Although they did not win a match on the day, several of the matches were close.
After the loss to Butler, the Braves evened their overall record at 2-2 with a 5-2 win over IUPUI.
After losing the first set 6-4, Miller beat her opponent 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in a tiebreak for the win.
Donohue, Buterbaugh and Scott also contributed, each picking up a singles victory.
In doubles action, the tandems of Regenold/Miller and Donohue/Buterbaugh each picked up a win for the team.
Petersen said he was happy with the team’s play on the road in Indianapolis.
“I feel that the team performed well,” he said. “Obviously, there is always room for improvement. We fought hard in both matches.”
With a record of 2-2, Petersen said the team’s goals are to continue to practice hard everyday.
“For the rest of the season I think our expectations are to fight hard and compete for every point, every game and every match,” Petersen said. “We are going to take it a match at a time. If we do this the wins will take care of themselves.”