WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's tennis team completed its non-traditional fall season over the weekend, finishing the slate 3-0 in dual matches along with competing in the annual ITA Central Regionals.
The Cardinals opened their September stretch with a
6-3 victory at Wittenberg, claiming four singles matches and then two of the three competitive doubles showdowns.
Sydney Bergman emerged with a tough three-set triumph at the No. 1 spot over Paige Meyers by scores of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Bergman and running mate
Makayla Sutter won 8-5 in the top doubles slot while teammates
Madison Mueller and
Kristen Zink won by the same margin at No. 3 doubles.
Bergman and Sutter then ventured up to Kalamazoo in Michigan and
represented Otterbein at the ITA's. Sutter moved into the Round of 32 with an opening 6-2, 6-3 win before falling to Nicole Semenov (University of Chicago). Bergman had an opposite path, dropping an opening-round contest before responding with a 6-3, 5-2 triumph in the backdraw. She was later eliminated by Denison's Alex Cash.
The duo also took part in the doubles bracket, going 1-2 that included a narrow victory over Wittenberg once more. They escaped 8-7 after a 7-3 tie-break win.
Otterbein culminated its fall season with head-to-head victories over a much-improved Mount Vernon Nazarene team,
6-1, followed by a tight
5-4 triumph over Division II Cedarville on campus.
The Cards, playing without Bergman against MVNU, still had little problem pulling away by earning the lone doubles point (D2 format) and then claiming all but one individual showdown. Freshman
Ashley Lambillotte tallied a 6-1, 7-6 victory at sixth singles, pulling out a 7-3 win during the tiebreak.
Otterbein held a 2-1 lead after doubles play against Cedarville, as Bergman/Sutter emerged 8-3 and the Mueller/Zink tandem won 8-4. The Cards came up just shy in the third doubles outing by an 8-6 deficit.
Both sides then won three singles matches each as things got tight in the afternoon, where Otterbein posted victories at the two, five and six lines. Sutter clinched the day with a strong 6-4, 7-5 decision against Liana English, while Mueller and
Rachelle Moses also contributed W's.
"Although our record may not indicate it, there are a lot of things the girls need to work on heading into the offseason," said head coach
Tyler Stephen, who currently holds a 48-16 dual record leading the women's program. "I am confident they can take these next four months and improve on the areas we have discussed. If we do that, I think we could be very strong come April."
Mueller currently stands a combined 5-0 across singles/doubles action while Moses is 3-0 individually.
Otterbein, which finished last school year at 17-4 overall and 7-1 within Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play, will now look to rest and refocus over the winter before hitting the court again come spring time.
