Women tighten grip on GPAC slot, men battle high-flying Doane

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Fueled by a late singles march, Morningside University sent its lone senior off in style Saturday, April 9. 

The trio of sophomore Olivia Boudreau (Papillion, Neb.), junior Shelain Lewis (Ironton, Minn.), and freshman Emma Dahlhoff (Vermillion, S.D.) collected wins at numbers four through six to ensure a 5-2 win for head coach Alex Struck's women's team. The victory, moving Mside to 10-or-more dual wins for a second successive season, kept the Mustangs' lock on second place in the league, increasing their mark to 4-1.

Tenly Hansen (York, Neb.) stepped on the home courts at Mason Family Tennis Center. She and junior Emily Clotfelter (Fairfield, Mt.) took DU's top doubles pairing to a 6-4 finish. Hansen did her best to keep the Tigers' Ashlyn Kucera at bay but dropped a 6-4, 6-2 result in singles action.

Morningside's men concluded their home schedule led by freshman Alex Castillo (Santiago, Chile). He rallied past Doane's Henrique Sakoda at number five singles 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. Struck's squad gave their guests all they could handle at number one doubles, falling 7-5, and junior Jaime Maza Martin (Madrid, Spain) dropped a 7-6 second set at number one singles in a 2-0 loss.

The Mustangs' men's team takes to the road Monday, April 11, for a non-conference clash at NCAA Division III Buena Vista University. The start time is 4 p.m. MU's women continue GPAC play by traveling to the College of Saint Mary Tuesday, April 12, for a 4 p.m. start.