ORLANDO, Fla. - Closing out their spring break trip on a high note, the University of Mary Women's Tennis team took a decisive win this afternoon against Ave Maria University.
 
The Marauders (3-8) returned to full strength for the match against the Gyrenes (1-7) and came away with a near-perfect win at 7-2 to wrap up the spring break trip to the sunshine state.
 
U-Mary just missed out on the doubles sweep as Sarah Janes and Meredith Holt dropped the close contest to Marianna Vargas and Mary Kathryn Lee at a 9-7 clip as the Gyrene duo held on long enough to claim the victory. Otherwise, Catherine Gibbens and Eileen Leong cruised to an 8-0 shutout over Camila Branster and Caitlin Constance, while Anastasia Bruss and Monica Benda teamed up for the convincing 8-1 win over Alexandra Lis-Planells and Mary Hardin.
 
The singles matchups turned out in similar fashion, though Janes couldn't quite take the win at the number one spot against Vargas as the Gyrene took the match at 6-3, 6-4, but Holt rebounded for a solid win as she took the 6-3, 6-2 decision against Branster for the 3-2 advantage favoring U-Mary.
 
Gibbens and Leong carried the momentum from their doubles match into the singles portion as Gibbens outlasted Kathryn Lee after taking the first set at 6-4, dropped the second to the Gyrene at 6-4, but fought back for the 10-2 win in the tiebreaker set to seal the victory. Meanwhile, Leong cruised to the eventual 6-2, 6-0 win over Lis-Planeells to effectively seal the team win at 5-2.
 
The remaining singles matches needed to be played out, though, as Bruss maintained her composure in the singles match against Constance with a solid 6-2, 6-0 win, while Shanna Stevenson took the bill at the number six singles spot and clinched the first set at 6-1, but had to endure a hard-fought second set against Katie Trudeau as the Marauders eventual claimed the win at 7-5.
 
The Marauders will have one match next week as they take on Concordia College (Minn.) on March 13, in Fargo, N.D., starting at 10 AM, but won't resume their conference schedule until April 3 when they host Bemidji State University at the Capital Racquet and Fitness Center starting at 9 AM.
 
FINAL RESULTS
 
Singles competition
1. Marianna Vargas (AMUWTEN) def. Janes, Sarah (MARY) 6-3, 6-4
2. Gibbens, Catherine (MARY) def. Mary Kathryn Lee (AMUWTEN) 6-4, 4-6, 10-2
3. Holt, Meredith (MARY) def. Camila Branstner (AMUWTEN) 6-3, 6-2
4. Bruss, Anastasia (MARY) def. Caitlin Constance (AMUWTEN) 6-2, 6-0
5. Leong, Eileen (MARY) def. A. Lis-Planells (AMUWTEN) 6-2, 6-0
6. Stevenson, Shanna (MARY) def. Katie Trudeau (AMUWTEN) 6-1, 7-5
 
Doubles competition
1. Marianna Vargas/Mary Kathryn Lee (AMUWTEN) def. Janes, Sarah/Holt, Meredith (MARY) 9-7
2. Gibbens, Catherine/Leong, Eileen (MARY) def. Camila Branstner/Caitlin Constance (AMUWTEN) 8-0
3. Bruss, Anastasia/Benda, Monica (MARY) def. A. Lis-Planells/Mary Hardin (AMUWTEN) 8-1
 
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