The Doane women’s tennis team hit the courts for a demanding stretch this past week, taking on three different conference opponents and walking away with a pair of impressive victories.
The action kicked off on Tuesday, April 7, as the Tigers hosted the College of Saint Mary at the Newburg Held Tennis Complex, edging out a tight 4-3 win. In doubles, seniors Grace Schroller and Kat Johnson secured a 6-3 victory in the number two slot. The Tigers really found their stride in singles play to clinch the overall win. Junior Maria Purizaca controlled the number one singles match (6-2, 6-0), and sophomore Liz Calderon followed suit in the second slot (6-1, 6-2). Junior Isabella Castillero battled back after dropping the first set to win the fifth singles match (1-6, 6-3, 6-3), while senior Alejandra Prat cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the sixth singles spot.
Riding that momentum, the team traveled to Orange City, Iowa, on Friday, April 10, where they earned a 6-1 victory over Northwestern. The Tigers secured victories in all three doubles matches to claim the opening point, with the duos of Purizaca/Calderon (6-2), Schroller/Johnson (6-0), and Castillero/Prat (6-4) putting together strong performances. In singles play, Doane took five of the six matchups. Purizaca, Schroller, Castillero and Prat all secured straight-set wins, while Calderon showed great resilience to bounce back and win her number two singles match 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.
Capping off the back-to-back road trip on Saturday, April 11, the Tigers faced a formidable Morningside squad in Sioux City, Iowa, ultimately falling 2-5. Despite the overall team loss, the top of the lineup fought hard. Purizaca and Calderon provided a bright spot in doubles, winning their number one matchup 6-4. Both players also ground out grueling three-set victories in their singles matches. Purizaca outlasted her opponent 7-6, 0-6, 7-5 in the first singles spot, and Calderon battled to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 win in the second slot.
After the busy stretch, Calderon shared her thoughts on the team’s performance. “Playing three matches in such a short time was definitely a challenge for us physically,” Calderon said. “Getting those wins against Saint Mary and Northwestern was huge for our confidence in the conference. Even though the match against Morningside didn’t go our way, I’m proud of how we kept competing until the very last point. We need to rest up now, but we are ready to get back to work and focus on our next goal.”
The next match for the Tigers will be against Midland on Tuesday, April 14 in Fremont, Nebraska.
