Against tough opponents, the Oberlin College women’s tennis team surpassed expectations and ousted some early season demons by accumulating a 3-1 record during their recent spring break trip.

“The women are playing well with different people stepping up in different situations,” Assistant Coach Adam Shoemaker said.

Oberlin first defeated Division II Shepherd College, 6-3, on the long trek down to Hilton Head, S.C. Tough conditions and a long car ride were no match for the Yeowomen as they rolled their opponents and improved to 7-2 on the season.

The Yeowomen next battled Palm Beach Atlantic University at the University of North Florida. The Sailfish, formerly of the NAIA, proved to be a tough match. They still have four scholarship players in their lineup carried over from last season’s Division II team.

Although the Sailfish seemed to have the advantage, the match was tied 4-4 and the Yeowomen held a realistic opportunity to pull out a huge victory when their lone senior was the only one left on the court. Whitney Reichheld could not win her match as she fell in a close, hard fought battle, losing 6-2 in the final set. The Sailfish narrowly escaped Jacksonville, Fla. with a victory as they squeaked by Oberlin, 5-4.

They next day, Oberlin traveled to Savannah, Georgia to play Division I Savannah State University. Oberlin completely overmatched the home team as they won in a blowout 8-1.

“Beating Savannah State was real nice because they are a Division I school,” junior Ary Amerikaner said.

After spring break, Oberlin had a record of 8-3, marking the halfway point of the season.

On Wednesday, Oberlin traveled to conference foe the College of Wooster to take on the Scots.

Oberlin lost two of three doubles matches but won four of six singles matches to clinch a crucial 5-4 victory. The Yeowomen are now 3-0 in the NCAC but the tougher part of the conference schedule is yet to come.

“It went really well. We are really excited about our first conference victory. Jess and I worked through some issues and played really well,” sophomore Kate Lurain said.

Although Oberlin has the tougher part of their schedule coming up, the challenges ahead will be a great measuring stick leading up to the conference tournament in two weeks. Shoemaker believes that yesterday was a good day but is not satisfied with an average performance.

“Yesterday was a good win. We didn’t play to the best of our ability but did what we had to do to win the match. I am looking forward to the rest of the conference season.”