GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University women's tennis team lost its regular season and conference finale at home to Kalamazoo College 4-3 on Saturday at Strikwerda Tennis Center.
Calvin (9-7, 6-2 MIAA) and Kalamazoo (12-6, 6-2 MIAA) battled to the end, with the Hornets winning the final match in a third-set to break a 3-3 tie and secure the win.
Kalamazoo took an early 1-0 lead in the match by winning two of the three doubles matches. The Knights' two-doubles team of
Tessa Holman (Washington, Mich./Romeo) and
Julia Hooker (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) won 6-4, but the Hornets won the numbers one and three matches both by the score of 6-3.
In singles, the Knights earned straight sets wins in the number-three spot from Holman (7-6 (7-4), 6-2), a fifth spot from Hooker (6-3, 6-4) and the sixth spot from
Sabrina Lopez (Steger, Ill./Illiana Christian) (6-1, 6-0), while the Hornets won the matches in the numbers one and two spots to tie the match at 3-3.
In the final match on the court,
Elise Norman (Kalamazoo, Mich./Lakeview) came back from a 6-4 defeat in the opening set to win the second 6-0 and force a third and final set. That third set went to a tiebreaker, where Norman fell 6-7 (2-7), giving the Hornets the final point to break the tie.
Calvin finished the regular season tied with Kalamazoo and Saint Mary's College for second place with 6-2 league records. The Knights will enter the MIAA Women's Tennis Tournament as the second seed, where it will face the winner of the 3/6 match between Saint Mary's and Adrian College on Thursday, April 30, at Strikwerda Tennis Center in the tournament semi-final round.
