Women’s tennis had a rough go in this weekend’s round of matches. On Saturday, Oct. 5, they faced conference-leading Carroll (10-4, 3-0 MWC). Lawrence split the singles matches with some great wins. Junior Hannah Geoffrey (No. 2) won her match 6-4, 6-2, against Carroll’s Megan Rosenburg to get it going for the Vikings. Then freshman Katie Frankel (No. 4) added to the split with her 6-3, 6-4 victory. Finally, senior Polly Dalton (No. 5) showed some veteran leadership by powering through a tough 7-5, 6-2, victory over opponent Samantha Hoynord. However, it just wasn’t enough as Carroll managed to sweep Lawrence in the doubles, defeating them with a final score of 6-3.
A quick turn around for the Vikings came on Sunday, as they would face a seemingly weaker opponent, the Buccaneers of Beloit College. Lawrence fell behind 2-1 after doubles pairs, Hannah Geoffrey/Ali Heiring (No. 1) and Katie Frankel/Allison Juda (No. 3) both lost their matches. In the meantime No. 2 pair Gayatri Malhotra and Polly Dalton, captured Lawrence’s only doubles win of the weekend.
In singles play, the Buccaneers were too strong for the Vikings beating them in five out of six matches. Malhotra (No. 1), Geoffrey (No. 2), and Heiring (No. 3) all lost their singles matches two straight sets. Lawrence continued to fight hard, though, and showed strong play through Polly Dalton, Melissa Heeren (No. 5), and Brenna Decker (No. 6). Junior Melissa Heeren picked up the only singles win for Lawrence 6-4, 6-1, over Beloit’s Paola Schnabel. Senior Brenna Decker’s match went to three sets as she worked hard to earn Lawrence another tally on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Libby Storrick of the Buccaneers was a little more resilient winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Polly Dalton’s singles match was a nail-biter. After losing the first set 6-4, Dalton shrugged it off and came back strong in the second. She dominated her opponent up and down the court, capturing the second set, 6-2. Dalton and Beloit’s Maria Mears went toe-to-toe in the final set forcing a tie-breaker. But the Buccaneers were just too much for the Vikings in this one, as Dalton lost 7-2, (7-6) in the end.
These were Lawrence’s seventh and eighth losses of the season, putting them at a current record of 7-8 (1-2 MWC). With the win on Saturday Oct. 5, Carroll managed to secure their spot in the MWC team tournament, while Beloit remains just above Lawrence in the standings 8-7, (2-2 MWC).
Be sure to show women’s tennis some support if you find yourself in the Green Bay area this weekend on Sunday Oct. 13. The Vikings will take on rival St. Norbert in De Pere, WI. This will be the last regular season match for the Vikings.