McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University women's tennis team faced off against Loras College for their senior day event at Evergreen Racquet Club in Bloomington, Illinois. On March 30, the Titans were defeated 5-2 by the Duhawks, which brought Illinois Wesleyan's season record to 8-10, while Loras College improved to 10-16.

Before the match, the Titans recognized seniors Andie Wilson from Champaign, Illinois, and Kate Christian from Washington, Illinois. These two players began their collegiate tennis careers during head coach Jason Van Heuklon's initial season as the women’s head coach in 2022-2023 and have been instrumental in helping to rebuild the team over the past three years.

The match started with Illinois Wesleyan winning a single point in doubles play. Freshmen Gabi Lipske and Katie Van Heuklon at No. 2 doubles secured a convincing 6-1 victory. Seniors Wilson and Christian, playing at No. 3 doubles, had a thrilling win, seizing the doubles point for the team. With the score tied at five, Christian and Wilson edged out the opposition with strong serves from Wilson to win the match, 7-5.

In singles matches, IWU's sole victory came from Lipske at the No. 2 position. She won the first set 7-6 (4) after a tiebreaker and captured the second set, 6-3, earning her second win of the meet.

Despite these efforts, the Titans fell short in other singles matches, losing 5-2 overall. The regular season ends for Illinois Wesleyan with a match against Greenville University on April 12 at Scott J. Burgess Tennis Complex, beginning at 12:30 p.m.