WOOSTER, Ohio – Otterbein split a pair of matches across a lengthy Sunday on the women's tennis scene, traveling up to Aspen Racquet Club for non-conference showdowns with No. 10-ranked Carnegie Mellon and then host Wooster.

The Cardinals endured a tough 9-0 loss to begin against the national powerhouse Tartans, albeit with a few competitive matches atop the singles board. Otterbein then responded to beat Wooster (6-3) for the 10th victory in the last 11 meetings.

CARNEGIE MELLON RECAP:

CMU controlled the doubles section to begin as Erin Storrer and Lillia Walter joined to play on the top line, before succumbing 8-2. Julia Gillin and Rachelle Moses also snagged a pair of games at third doubles but couldn't register much more.

Storrer, a former NCAA singles qualifier, squared off with Tartan standout Sarah Yang at No. 1 singles and went the full distance in their first set together. Storrer would eventually fall in a tiebreaker and then run out of steam in the second frame.

Walter had the most competitive affair at second singles before resting on the low side of a 6-3, 7-6 outcome. She nearly forced a third set but came up short (7-5) to Danna Taylor in her breaker.

WOOSTER RECAP:

Otterbein shrugged off that above result and regrouped for a much longer contest with the host Scots into the evening. Storrer and Olivia Eckels dropped a tight 8-5 result at first doubles but saw their teammates get even for a 2-1 lead at the midway point…

Walter and Aubrey McMahon worked back for an 8-5 triumph of their own, while Gillin and Moses finished 8-3 on the bottom line for their W.

The Cardinals then secured four (of six) singles courts to clinch an important victory behind wins from Walter, Moses, Eckels and McMahon.

McMahon and Eckles won their matches to begin, including an admirable 7-5 tiebreaker emergence by Eckels, before Moses and Walter were left on the court with Otterbein leading the team board 4-3.

Moses was the first to finish and "clinch" the fifth point in a long showdown with multiple back-and-forth swings. She overcame a 7-5 loss in the first set to surge ahead with consecutive 6-4 responses.

Leving little doubt in the final margin was Walter, also bouncing back from a disappointing breaker in the opening set to post a lopsided 6-0 shutout in the middle portion. She carried that momentum into a workmanlike 6-4 decision in the third.

MOVING FORWARD:

The team will have another pair of rugged matchups next weekend before spring break, traveling into the Cleveland area for contests at Oberlin and Case Western Reserve.