McLean County Times

In its first match of the 2025 season, the Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) women's tennis team faced a narrow defeat against Cornell College with a score of 4-3 on Sunday, March 2. This result brings IWU's overall record to 6-7 while Cornell College improves to 9-3.

The match began with Illinois Wesleyan taking an early lead by winning the doubles point. The sophomore pair Amber Ehrlich and Olivia Bell secured victory in No. 1 doubles after a tiebreaker, finishing with a score of 7-6 (4). Freshmen Gabi Lipske and Katie Van Heuklon also contributed to this early advantage by winning their No. 2 doubles match with a score of 6-4.

In singles play, Van Heuklon achieved a win at the No. 3 singles position, defeating her opponent in two sets with scores of 7-6 (4) and 6-1. Bell continued her successful performance by securing another victory in the No. 4 singles slot, taking her sets at 6-2 and 6-3.

The Titans are set to continue their season with a spring break trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama from March 10 to March 14. They will start this trip by facing the University of Wisconsin-Superior on Monday, March 10 at 8 a.m.

Singles competition results included Tansy Graves from Cornell College defeating Amber Ehrlich with scores of 7-5 in both sets for No.1 singles, while Mac Graves also from Cornell bested Gabi Lipske at No.2 singles with scores of 6-1 and 7-5. Isabella Wallin overcame Kate Christian in two sets at No.5 singles, scoring 6-3 and 7-5 respectively. At No.6 singles, Ashley Drake defeated Angela Zatloka in straight sets with scores of 6-2 and 6-1.

In doubles competition besides the victories for IWU's top two pairs, Alyssa Flynn and Jenna Benkufsky from Cornell won against Kate Christian and Andie Wilson at No.3 doubles with a scoreline of 6-1.