KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The Truman State University women's tennis team dropped a pair of home matches this week at the Truman Tennis Courts, falling to Fort Hays State 5-2 on Thursday, March 19 and Illinois-Springfield 5-2 on Sunday, March 22.
Against Fort Hays State, the Tigers, who entered the match at 7-2, claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. The Bulldogs' bright spot came at No. 1 doubles, where Finley Laforge and MaryGrace Seymour teamed up for a 6-4 victory. In singles, Fort Hays State won four of six courts to clinch the match, with Bethan Gill, Molly Gaddis, Ines Latorre, and Ines Steeman each posting straight-set wins. Belle Daniels provided a highlight with a 7-5, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles, and Rachel Bivens earned a win by opponent retirement at No. 6.
Sunday's match against Illinois-Springfield was far more competitive than the final score suggests. All three doubles were tightly contested, with Laforge and Seymour earning a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles and Alayna Dostal and Himari Maruyama falling in a close 4-6 match at No. 3. The decisive No. 1 doubles came down to the wire, with Truman at 40-all at 5-6, UIS earned the critical point to clinch the doubles advantage. In singles, three of the six matches extended to three sets. Sydney Dial turned in one of her best performances of the season at No. 1 singles, battling back to win 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Nayana Malangi, Finley Laforge, and MaryGrace Seymour each pushed their opponents to three sets before falling. Bivens capped the match with a strong 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 singles.
"We played some of our best tennis this season in today's meet. All three doubles were closely contested, and the first two were split with the Twins getting a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles. That left the No. 1 doubles match as the decider, and it was the most closely contested. UIS got the point on a well-played point by both teams. Nos. 1, 3, and 4 singles all went to three sets. Nayana, Finley, and MaryGrace played well, with MG and Fin taking their opponents to three sets before losing. Finally, Syd played one of her best matches all year in a highly contested match at No. 1 singles, closing out the third set 7-5 to pick up the win." — Head Coach Steve Smith
Up Next:
With the two losses, Truman falls to 6-5 on the season and 0-1 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. The Bulldogs will now play a quintet of NAIA opponents over the coming weeks, starting off by hosting Grand View on Wednesday at 3:00 PM at Truman Tennis Courts. Come out and support the Bulldogs on Wednesday!
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