DECORAH, Iowa (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's tennis team's undefeated start to the fall season screeched to a halt today as the Blugolds fell to Luther College (Iowa) 7-2 and the College of St. Benedict (Minn.) 5-4.
Against Luther, the Blugolds secured wins in the No. 1 singles match and the No. 2 doubles competition. Taylor Heltne (Jr.-Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) beat her singles opponent with set scores of 6-4, 2-6 and 10-5 for one of the two Blugold victories. Gretchen Bachmeier (Jr.-Eau Claire, Wis./North) and Maddie Johnson (Fr.-Lakeville, Minn./South) scored the doubles win with an 8-6 result.
The Blugolds had more success against St. Benedict, but couldn't overcome the Blazers for the victory. In singles, Heltne held her own after dropping the first set of the No. 1 match 6-1. She rallied to defeat her Blazer opponent 6-4, 10-6. Katie Gillman (Red Wing, Minn./Red Wing) also won her No. 3 match in singles. Gillman dropped the first set 5-7, but secured a 3-2 lead in the second before the match was retired.
Eau Claire also picked up two victories in doubles competition. The duo of Gillman and Heltne narrowly earned the No. 1 doubles win with a result of 8-7. Lexi DeMario (So.-Verona, Wis./Verona Area) and Mary Frassetto (So.-Oshkosh, Wis./West) teamed up to record the 8-2 win in the No. 3 match.
The team falls to an even 2-2 on the year. The Blugolds will return home for a match this Thursday against UW-Stout. Competition is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. at the McPhee Physical Education Center.
-AH-
