The Calvin University women's tennis team finished the fall portion of its schedule with a split of two matches at two different venues.
Calvin (1-1) opened the day with a 4-3 defeat at Spring Arbor University (4-1 before defeating Grace College (0-3) 6-1 at MVP Sportsplex in Grand Rapids to close the day.
Match 1
The Knights dropped a back-and-forth battle with Spring Arbor by a 4-3 final to open the day on the road.
The number-three Calvin doubles team of
Ana Ornellas (Londrina, Brazil/Colegio Saber) and
Alex VerMeulen (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) won 6-4, but the Cougars won the numbers-one (6-3) and two (6-2) matches to win the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
That doubles point came up big in the final scoring, as Calvin won three singles matches but needed a fourth to secure the overall win.
Marina Ribeiro (Santos Sal Paolo, Brazil/Santa Cecilia) won in two-singles 6-1, 7-5. Ornellas won her number-four match 7-5, 6-2, and VerMeulen won in six-singles 6-2, 6-1.
Match 2
Calvin scored its first team win of the season by a 6-1 final to close the day against Grace College at MVP Sportsplex.
The Knights started strong in doubles, winning all three matches to take a 1-0 overall lead. The top seeded team of
Ryan Morey (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) and
Rachel Grissom (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) won 6-4, the two-doubles team of Ornellas and Ribeiro won 6-2, and the three-doubles team of VerMeulen and
Sabrina Lopez (Steger, Ill./Illiana Christian) won 6-0.
After the strong start, Ribeiro (6-1, 6-4), Ornellas (7-5, 6-1), Grissom (6-4, 6-0) and VerMeulen (6-2, 6-0) each won their singles matches in straight sets. Lopez overcame a first-set tiebreaker defeat to win in three sets in three-singles (6-7, 6-4, 10-3). Morey lost a second-set tiebreaker in one-singles and before falling in three sets (3-6, 7-6, 10-5).
NEXT UP: Calvin women's tennis will return to action in 2027 for the spring and MIAA portions of its schedule.
