BRIDGEWATER - The Bridgewater College women's tennis team celebrated Senior Day with a close 5-4 victory over Southern Virginia on a cold Tuesday afternoon at Mapp Courts. The Eagles won both the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches in split sets to pull out the non-conference victory.
The Eagles, playing without its No. 1 player Jamiah Lewis, took a 2-1 lead at the conclusion of doubles play.
Whitney Kiser and senior Shannon Quinn put the Eagles on the board with an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles over Audrey McBride and Natalie Teets. The Knights evened the match when Elizabeth Fuchs and Rachel Christensen downed Nicole Shifflett and Stephanie Barton, 8-2, to take the point at No. 1 doubles. Bridgewater regained the lead when senior Ashley Price and Rachel Zarin turned back Lauren Morrison and Makaela Adamson, 8-2, to win at the No. 3 slot.
Southern Virginia controlled play in the middle of the singles ladder to take the team lead. Christensen defeated Shifflett 6-2, 6-1 to win at No. 2 singles while Morrison took the point at No. 3 with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Barton, giving the Knight a 3-2 lead.
The Eagles pulled even when Kiser stopped Fuchs 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 1 flight, but the Knights surged back ahead with a win at No. 4 where McBride defeated Quinn 6-2, 6-3.
Price made the team score 4-4 when she held off Adamson at No. 6. Price slipped by Adamson in the first set 7-6, but Adamson tied the match with a close 6-4 win in the second set. A tiebreaker was played to determine the winner and Price controlled the tiebreak, winning 10-1.
That left it up to the match at No. 5 singles where Bridgewater's Rachel Crawford and Southern Virginia's Teets were locked in a close match. Crawford lost the first set in a tiebreaker 7-6, but bounced back to win a close second set 7-5. Price prevailed in the tiebreaker to determine the winner by a score of 10-5 to clinch the team victory for the Eagles.
Bridgewater is back in action Wednesday afternoon when the Eagles travel to Winchester, Va., to play Shenandoah in an ODAC contest.
