WINONA, Minn. - Entering the final weekend one spot out of the conference tournament, the University of Mary Women's Tennis team had a strong showing today against Winona State University to inch closer to the number eight spot.
 
The Marauders (6-9, 4-6 NSIC) took several decisive matches on the day, including two of the three super tiebreakers, en route to a 7-2 thrilling win over the Warriors (2-11, 2-9 NSIC).
 
Sarah Janes, fresh off her NSIC Player of the Week selection, teamed up with Meredith Holt, who was making a homecoming trip of sorts, at number one doubles but fell before Justine Daane and Rachel Gantz at a 8-3 clip.
 
Thankfully, the rest of the doubles favored U-Mary as Catherine Gibbens and Eileen Leong continued their dominance as a duo with an 8-4 win over Katie Scruggs and Hattie Scott in a match featuring long rallies between the pairs with the Marauders winning out on a consistent effort.
 
The number three doubles proved one of many turning points as Anastasia Bruss and Monica Benda fell behind early at 3-0 to Keara Thiele and Melissa Boehmke, but battled back in usual fashion thanks to powerful serves from Bruss and a solid net presence from Benda for the 8-6 win to clinch the doubles for U-Mary and a 2-1 team lead going into the singles competition.
 
Janes returned to form in her singles matchup against Daane as the Marauder took the 6-4, 6-4 win behind a powerful serve that proved the difference in a match highlighted by deuces wild. Gibbens took the first super tiebreaker at number two singles against Gantz as the marathon match started with a 6-4 first set win for the Marauder, followed by a 6-0 second set win for the Warrior to steal the momentum, capped off with a dominating performance in the super tiebreaker from Gibbens as she clinched the win at 10-2, improving her season mark to 11-4, 7-3 in NSIC matches.
 
The fastest match of the day came at the number three singles between Holt and Scott with the Marauder blazing the way to a 6-1, 6-2 win off fast points decided by her strong performance on the net, setting the team score at 5-1 and guaranteeing a U-Mary team win.
 
The match was far from over as Bruss took on Thiele at the number four singles with the Marauder laying claim to the 6-4, 6-4 win on another consistent performance, but the Warriors struck back at number five singles with Scruggs taking on Leong in the second super tiebreaker of the match.
 
Scruggs took the first set at 6-2 before Leong could battle back in the second set at 6-0, but the Warrior held on for the win at 10-4 for the second team point, setting the stage at 6-2 going into the number six singles.
 
Shanna Stevenson continues to improve at the number six spot as she claimed the first set against Lauren Willkom at 6-0, but dropped the second set 6-1 for the third super tiebreaker of the match. Stevenson refocused, though, as she claimed the seventh win for U-Mary on the day behind a 10-4 final score, rebounding from her super tiebreaker loss last week to Justine Scheller from Bemidji State University.
 
The Marauders will remain in Winona, Minn., for one more day as they take on Upper Iowa University in a neutral site match tomorrow morning starting at 9 AM.
 
University of Mary 7, Winona State 2
 
Singles competition
1. Janes, Sarah (MARY) def. Daane, Justine (WSU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Gibbens, Catherine (MARY) def. Gantz, Rachel (WSU) 6-4, 0-6, 10-2
3. Holt, Meredith (MARY) def. Scott, Hattie (WSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Bruss, Anastasia (MARY) def. Thiele, Keara (WSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Scruggs, Katie (WSU) def. Leong, Eileen (MARY) 6-2, 0-6, 10-4
6. Stevenson, Shanna (MARY) def. Willkom, Lauren (WSU) 6-0, 1-6, 10-4
 
Doubles competition
1. Daane, Justine/Gantz, Rachel (WSU) def. Janes, Sarah/Holt, Meredith (MARY) 8-3
2. Gibbens, Catherine/Leong, Eileen (MARY) def. Scruggs, Katie/Scott, Hattie (WSU) 8-4
3. Bruss, Anastasia/Benda, Monica (MARY) def. Thiele, Keara/Boehmke, Melissa (WSU) 8-6
 
#marauders#