ATLANTA— Montreat's women's tennis team traveled to the Peach State for two team matches against ranked opponents in the most recent NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll. The Cavaliers started their day facing off against No. 19 SCAD Atlanta and lost, 6-1. Continuing their day, they squared off against No. 2 Georgia Gwinnett College, losing the match, 4-0.
In the initial match, the Bees secured the doubles point, winning both of the matches in doubles play.
Chiharu Ito and
Ainhoa Ordonez were paired against the second-best doubles partners in the nation. They lost their match, 6-0. That was also the outcome of the second doubles match, but it was
Annika Rojas and
Clara Roman who faltered.
In the singles matches, Ito was the lone victor for the Cavaliers. She battled back after losing the first set, 6-3, and won the second set 6-4, forcing a tiebreak. In the race to 10 points, she was successful and won the tiebreak, 10-4. Ordonez faced the second-ranked singles player in the nation and lost her match 6-0 in both sets.
Roman's match also required a tiebreak, but the Spaniard could not collect the win. She dazzled in set one, winning it 6-1. She lost set two, 6-0, and lost the tiebreak, 10-8. Rojas also lost her singles match. Both sets ended 6-2.
After the morning match, the Cavs faced their toughest opponent of the year. The Grizzlies won the doubles point after just two matches, winning both 6-1. Montreat played the same pairings from the SCAD match but couldn't secure the advantage.
The Cavs forfeited two of the singles matches, meaning that the Grizzlies needed just one singles match triumph to secure the team victory. With four singles duals going on, the quickest finish came in Rojas' match where she lost in two sets from 6-0 scorelines in both. The rest of the matches were unfinished in the loss.
At the time of defeat, Roman was one game away from a match loss. Ito lost set one, 6-0, and was losing the second set, 3-1, when the game was called. Ordonez lost her initial set, 6-1, and was trailing 2-1 in the second at the conclusion of the team match.
Up next, the Montreat women's tennis squad will host the Converse University Valkyries on Sunday. First serves are scheduled for 2 p.m.
