KENTWOOD, Mich. - The Calvin women's tennis team dropped a 6-1 non-conference decision to Aquinas College Friday evening at the MVP Sportsplex.
With Aquinas the host institution, the match was scored in an NAIA format with the three doubles matches (best of three) counting for one point.
The host Saints (3-2) quickly took the 1-0 lead by sweeping all three doubles matches.
Joska Volder and Kiara Berry of Aquinas defeated junior Maria Poortenga (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Alex Bonner (Alto, Mich./Forest Hills Central HS) 6-1 at No. 1 doubles.
Sofia Gomez and Vanessa Heylmun topped sophomore Maya Klopfenstein (Goshen, Ind./Concord HS) and sophomore Grace Brown (Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg HS) 6-1. Bailey Chouinard and Darci TerHaar defeated sophomore Emily Schellenboom (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Sydney Ellsworth (Williamston, Mich./Williamston HS) 6-2.
The Saints then took five of the six singles points to seal the win.
Volder was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Klopfenstein at No. 1 singles. Gomez defeated Poortenga 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2 singles. Chouinard was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Brown at No. 3 singles. Berry edged Schellenboom 7-6 (5), 6-3 at No. 4 singles.
Bonner picked up a point for Calvin with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Heylmun at No. 5 singles. TerHaar then defeated Calvin freshman Cameron Cyrus (Naperville, Il./Neuqua Valley HS) 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles.
COACHES COMMENT: "Aquinas is a very talented team at the top of its lineup," said Calvin head women's tennis coach Tim Morey. "That top of the lineup strength gives them significant depth. I think we were competitive with them overall. The final score of this match is not indicative of how competitive it was. I thought we overcame a slow start and competed very well from top to bottom for our second match of year (2020). We are still getting to know each other as a team but it has been a positive experience. Our team trusts each other and has responded well. We have a great group of women on this team. We shuffled our doubles lineup around from our last match and we are still learning how to play quality doubles. I was really pleased with the performance for groups playing their first doubles matches together. We showed serious resiliencey after losing the doubles point."
NEXT UP: Calvin will host Spring Arbor next Saturday at 1 p.m. inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
