On a frigid, windy night at Blackburn Park, the Webster University women’s tennis team fell to Missouri Baptist University, 5-1 in a best of nine match.
Head Coach Martha Davis focused on the positives from her team.
“I thought the team played very well. We had a lot of elements to deal with tonight. The cold and then the wind also increases the feeling of the cold. So, I thought they played well,” Davis said.
The one victory Webster did manage on the night was a 9-8 triumph (on a 7-3 tiebreaker) in a battle of the designated number ones from each squad. Webster’s number one doubles team of Kaylen Kress (sophomore) and Marissa Lewis (junior) managed to hold on in a back-and-forth affair. They had held a five games to two advantage over the first team from Missouri Baptist of Nika Juricic and Shelby Mund, but Missouri Baptist mounted a comeback to send the game into a tie breaker.
“We started off strong, but then they (Missouri Baptist) warmed up. We had to get on our ‘A’ game tonight. And Kaylan helped keep me level headed, and then we just finished it,” Lewis said.
Lewis added that she had never been involved in such a lengthy tie breaker in a doubles match.
In the other doubles match on the night, Kathleen Kennedy and Isabella Espinoza (both juniors) led against the second doubles team from Missouri Baptist 7-4, but eventually lost out 9-7.
Webster was forced to default the third scheduled doubles match due to a lack of players. The team has only seven players on the team this year. This is the second time this season the team has been forced to default. The first time occurred in the team’s opening match, when the Gorloks had to default on multiple matches against Maryville University on March, 17 according to a Webster Athletics Article.
In the first three singles matches played, Missouri Baptist defeated Webster which gave them five victories, enough to claim the win on the night. Erin Roop, Kathleen Kennedy and Chelsea Foster all were on the losing end of the matches for the Gorloks.
Webster fell to 1-6 on the season while, Missouri Baptist, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) school, improved to 2-7 on the season.
Webster will next play tomorrow at 4 p.m. against Stephens College.
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