COLUMBIA, S.C.— The Montreat women's tennis squad traveled to South Carolina's capital city on Tuesday for an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) team match versus the Columbia College Koalas. Despite a valiant effort, the Cavaliers came up just short, falling to 1-10 (1-4 AAC) after a 4-3 league defeat.
 
Montreat owned the upper hand early thanks to the doubles point. While the Cavs forfeited the No. 3 pairing, they battled their way to narrow victories in the top two matchups. Ainhoa Ordonez and Chiharu Ito squeezed out a 7-6 (7-5) triumph at No. 1, and Clara Roman and Annika Rojas claimed a 6-4 win on the second court.
 
Newly recognized in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NAIA Women's Singles Rankings, Ito lived up to her No. 37 national standing. A quick 6-1, 6-0 sweep in the top slot had the visitors dreaming of victory. Clara Roman also secured a swift 6-2, 6-0 sweep at No. 3.
 
Those three team points ultimately proved to be where the Cavaliers finished the match. Columbia (6-3, 2-3 AAC) won in straight sets at No. 2, and it came away with three-set wins on the fourth and fifth singles courts. Because the visitors didn't have a sixth player, they were forced to forfeit the decisive final singles bout. As a result, the Koalas captured the team triumph, 4-3.
 
Montreat hosts Brenau University on Friday in another AAC showdown. Doubles play is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. in Montreat, N.C.