The University of Sioux Falls women's tennis team traveled to Hilton Head Island, S.C. for spring break and opened their annual trip with a decisive 6-3 win over Clarion University (Pa.). The Cougars upped their record to 3-4 on the season, while the Eagles dropped to 2-6 overall.
Due to a lack of open courts at Hilton Head Beach & Golf Resort, the match opened with singles play, where the Cougars took four of six matches. Junior Morgan DeLange was the first player off the court, as she routed Jessica Dgien (6-0, 6-1) in fifth flight singles. Sophomore Emily Erickson and redshirt senior Molly Seigenthaler posted identical 6-2, 6-3 victories in no. 3 and no. 4 singles, respectively.
Cougar freshman Cassie Stanek retired from her no. 6 singles match against Allison Probst with a wrist injury and sophomore Stacey Beard fell in straight sets to Megan Bettwy (6-0, 6-2) on court two to cut the Cougars' lead to 3-2.
The most exciting match took place on court one, where sophomore Joey Bosch and Lauren Zezenski battled for more than an hour. Bosch struggled early with the velocity of Zezenski's serve and trailed the first set, 1-0. Bosch began to see the ball better and dominated games two and three with several angled backhand shots that Zezenski couldn't collect for a return. With Bosch holding a 40-15 lead in game five, Zezenski won the next two points to level the score at deuce before Bosch won the next two rallies and clinched the game with a stutter-step dump over the net to take a 3-1 lead in set one.
But Zezenski switched to a counter attack for the next several games and went on the baseline defensive, pounding a myriad of short balls in Bosch's direction. The tactic worked, as Bosch was forced into several unforced errors and Zezenski grabbed four of the next six games to cut her deficit to 5-4 with Bosch serving. Bosch answered by blanking Zezenski to take set one 6-4.
The dropping temperatures created troubles for both players in the second set, as the ball lost noticeable bounce in the twilight and it looked like both players were hitting shots with a 2-by-4.
Bosch fell into a 3-0 hole and later trailed 5-3. She opened the ninth game with an ace and grabbed the next three points to hold serve and put the pressure on Zezenski. Bosch broke her serve to tie the match at 5-all and was suddenly in complete control, giving up just three points over the next two games to take set two 7-5 and the match to give USF a commanding 4-2 lead heading into doubles play.
USF then took two of three doubles matches to take the match against the Eagles, 6-3. Zezenski revenged her loss to Bosch on court one, where she teamed up with Madeline Robinson to turn away Bosch and Kara Bunkers by an 8-1 verdict. That's as close as the Eagles would get in the scorebook though; seniors Rachel Hussey and Karlee Sieve made quick work of their third flight opponents (8-0) to clinch the match for USF and were able to watch teammates Abby Seigenthaler and Stacey Beard hold on for an 8-6 win vs. Megan Bettwy and Jessica Kennelly in No. 2 doubles.
The Cougars continue spring break action tomorrow morning, when they will square off against NCAA Division III power Wisconsin-Eau Claire (10-3). The Blugolds have dropped just three individual matches this week in Hilton Head, where they are 3-0 with wins over Bloomsburg, Wooster and Millersville.
