GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's tennis team remained unbeaten and opened its conference season on a winning note with a 7-2 victory over Saint Mary's College Saturday afternoon inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
Saturday's match marked the conference opener for both teams. Calvin upped its overall season record to 11-0 with the win.
Doubles play provided the early momentum for the Knights as they claimed all three points.
Calvin claimed two of the three doubles points in come-from-behind fashion.
Calvin trailed at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles but battled back from deficits to win. Senior Grace Brown (Middleville, Mich./Thornapple-Kellogg HS) and freshman Maggie Shoemaker (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) came up with an 8-6 win at No. 2 doubles.
Senior Alexis Ganop (Riverview, Mich./Riverview Community HS) and junior Cameron Cyrus (Naperville, Il./Neuqua Valley HS) were 8-6 winners at No. 3 doubles.
At No. 1 doubles, senior Emily Schellenboom (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and freshman Catherine Grissom (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central HS) claimed an early lead and then held on for an 8-7 win, winning 8-6 in the tiebreaker.
Calvin then clinche the match with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles.
Schellenboom topped Lucy Chamberlin 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1 singles while Shoemaker rolled to a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3 singles over Meredith Heckert.
Calvin upped its winning margin with late wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Freshman Averi Lewis (Tualatin, Ore./Tualatin HS) dropped Kayln Borger 6-4, 6-0 at No. 5 singles. Ganop defeated Nikki Rust 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
COACHES COMMENT: "It was good to open our conference with a win against a high-quality opponent like Saint Mary's," said Calvin head women's tennis coach John Ross. "The doubles matches were obviously a big key. We dug down and pulled out three tight matches to help swing the match in our favor early. I was also very pleased with our singles play. We are taking it one match at a time but this was a good win and I'm happy with our performance."
NEXT UP: Calvin will travel to Kalamazoo next Wednesday for a key 4 p.m. conference match.
