The Yeowomen played two excellent matches at home this past weekend. On Saturday, March 11, they defeated Ohio Dominican University at Jones Memorial Field House. The following day they narrowly lost to Walsh University, finishing the match in dramatic fashion.

After the first match, sophomore Kimiko Glynn said, “That girl was fast and could return the ball quickly. That’s what made it tough.” Despite this, she won both sets 6-3 and 6-1 with what appeared to be relative ease.

The number two spot was played by junior Bianca Barr. Barr played a great match, quickly gaining a lead and keeping her opponent from bringing the game in close. Barr won both sets 6-2 and 6-3.

Sophomore Jackie Golden played the number three spot and had a very tough match. Her opponent, Jamie Debas, played an intense match, and Golden was unable to counter her. In the end, Debas beat Golden with scores of 6-1 and 6-0.

Junior Kate Lurain had an impressive match at the number four spot. Lurain won the first set rather easily with a score of 6-4, but the second set proved to be more difficult. For a long period Lurain and her opponent Emily Sampsu were stuck in a stalemate, points being traded back and forth with every shot. Lurain eventually got past the tough match and won the set 6-4.

The number five spot was filled by first-year Sarah Tietelbaum, who had a strong first set, winning 6-4. The second set wasn’t as easy, as her opponent Amanda Hollenbough placed a few critical shots just out of Tietelbaum’s reach, winning 7-5. The third set proved just as difficult, almost moving into tie-breaker status. Tietelbaum won 7-5 in the end. First-year Olivia Hayden was the number six and played a great match, quickly winning both sets 6-1.

In doubles, the Yeowomen had three very close matches. Barr and Hayden had a very intense first match with many ups and downs. ODU’s squad tried to make a comeback after losing the first few games but were unable to overcome Barr and Hayden’s brilliant teamwork. OC won the match 9-7.

The second pair consisted of Golden and first-year Elle Anzinger. Both pairs played hard as Golden and Anzinger started off strong. Despite this, the match went to ODU after they snuck in a number of critical shots, winning 8-6. The final match was played by Lurain and first-year Kelly Sipp. OC gained the lead early on but ODU attempted a comeback, similar to their previous match. The match went to a tie-breaker at the end in which Lurain and Sipp took the win 4-2. The final score of the match was 7-2.

On Sunday, March 12, the Yeowomen had an intense match against Walsh University, most notably the doubles competition. The first doubles match was played by Golden and Barr. They fell behind early and couldn’t catch up in time in the end, losing 5-8.

The twos were Lurain and Hayden, another tough match but a very tight one. Lurain and Hayden refused to give up the win easily and brought the match into a tie-breaker. The victory, however, went to Walsh by a very narrow margin, and they won 8-6.

Sophomore Hillary Hueter and Sipp played as the threes in the final match of doubles. This quickly turned into another tough match as both pairs stayed within one game of each other early on. The victory went to OC this time after some coordinated shots by Hueter and Sipp won it for them by a final of 8-6.

Singles proved to be just as difficult for OC, when Barr played the first match. Barr and her opponent played an even match countering shot for shot, which led to a tie-breaker. The first set went to Walsh 6-8 while the second set went to OC 6-3 after Barr made a huge comeback. The third set was just as difficult, but Barr came out the winner 7-5.

Golden played the second match and faced stiff competition. After losing the first set 1-6, she looked as though she was making a comeback in the second set. Golden was unable to finish what she started, however, losing the set 3-6.

Lurain played the third match and gained an early lead of 3-0 in the beginning, keeping her edge the rest of the set and winning by a dominant 6-0. The second set, though slightly tougher, still went to Lurain by a score of 6-2.

The fourth match was played by Tietelbaum, who had a rough start as many of her shots didn’t connect. The first set went to Walsh 6-1 but Tietelbaum started coming back in the second. Her shots got more and more accurate and eventually led to a tight tie-breaker. Unfortunately, Walsh came out with the win 7-5.

Sipp played the fifth match and put forth an impressive performance, winning her first set 6-1. The second set got a little tougher, but Sipp didn’t let up, winning her second set 6-4, which allowed OC to tie Walsh overall at 4-4.

The decisive match was played by Hayden. The match started off harshly for Hayden, and she lost the first set 2-6. But Hayden gave a hard fight in the second set, drawing the match out for a long time as she tried to pull the match into a third set. Hayden was unable to achieve her goal, however. Walsh gained the win 6-1.

The final score was 5-4, with Walsh as the victor. Despite the tight loss, the Yeowomen kept their spirits up and look forward to the next game vs. Wittenberg Saturday, March 18. The women’s record is now 3-3.