PHOTO GALLERY (Franciscan)

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's tennis team nears the end of its fall season here in September, having played a pair of dual matches sandwiched around two invitationals at Kenyon and Denison.

The Cardinals have gone 2-0 straight up as a team, bouncing Grove City (8-1) at Westerville Central High School and then returning to their newly resurfaced courts for a 7-2 victory against Franciscan.

Otterbein nearly took every court from the Wolverines to begin the calendar, working hard to sweep doubles (8-6 on the third line) before coming up just short in one singles matchup. Lillia Walter was perfect on top line 6-0, 6-0 as Erin Storrer got the day off.

The Cards then took on some valuable exchanges at the two-day Kenyon Invitational in Gambier, gaining very competitive experience and winning a handful of matchups along the way against rugged opponents from the North Coast Athletic Conference, University Athletic Association, etc.

Olivia Eckels won two matches individually while Julia Gillin, Aubrey McMahon and Cassady Shough were also winners at certain points.

Walter/Gillin and Shough/McMahon also teamed for a pair of 8-5 doubles victories. Rachelle Moses and Eckels outlasted a duo from John Carroll, 8-7, while Storrer and Emma Henson culminated their trip with a convincing win against Oberlin.

Otterbein then broke in its new home-court surface, now featuring a dominant tan look, with a comfortable team win over the Franciscan Barons. Storrer/Henson won a breaker to narrowly emerge on the top doubles line while Eckels/Walter were also in a tight showdown before prevailing 8-6.

The Cards were fairly dominant in their four singles victories, although Franciscan did capture a pair of points that included a notable three-set win for Maria Herrera in the top battle.

Most recently, the team headed over to Granville for another two-day outing against high-level competition. The Cards faced off with Case Western Reserve, Denison and Centre.

Otterbein had the most success against Centre, taking five of seven individual matchups and claiming all three doubles contests. Among the notable endings were Moses and Shough emerging to win third-set breakers.

The Cards will send a few players to ITA Regionals at the end of the month, taking place this time around at Washington University in St. Louis.