McLean County Times

Playing its second match in as many days, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's tennis team faced a setback against North Park University on Saturday, September 14. The loss puts IWU at a 2-2 overall record and 0-2 in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) play, while North Park maintains an undefeated record of 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the league.

Despite being shut out in doubles matches, sophomores Amber Ehrlich from Springfield and Olivia Bell from Bloomington managed to secure victories in their singles matches.

Ehrlich overcame Hanna Zethraeus, North Park's top player, in a challenging No. 1 singles match. After winning the first set 6-4, she lost the second set 6-2 but triumphed in the tiebreaker with a score of 10-5.

In the No. 3 singles position, Bell started strong by winning her first set 6-0 against Katja Carlberg. Although Carlberg won the second set with a close score of 7-6 (5), Bell claimed victory by taking the tiebreaker at 11-9.

The Illinois Wesleyan team will continue its season at home against Millikin University on Wednesday, September 18, with a match scheduled to start at 4 p.m.

Singles competition results included Ehrlich defeating Zethraeus with scores of 6-4, 2-6, and a tiebreaker win of 10-5. Bell defeated Carlberg with scores of 6-0, followed by a narrow loss of 6-7 (5), but secured her win with an 11-9 tiebreaker.

In doubles competition, Alexandra Ristfeldt and Katja Carlberg from North Park defeated Ehrlich and Bell from IWU with a score of 6-3. Other doubles matches saw Hanna Zethraeus paired with Emilia Sand winning over Gabi Lipske and Kate Christian from IWU by a score of 6-1. Maddie Starr along with Alexandra Pugachova defeated Carly Edwards and Andie Wilson from IWU without conceding any games.

North Park holds a perfect record so far this season both overall and within CCIW play while Illinois Wesleyan is seeking to improve its conference performance moving forward.