TROY, Ill. – The McKendree University women's tennis team began the home portion of its 2021-22 season here Tuesday afternoon by suffering a hard-fought 4-3 setback to Quincy University at Triad High School.
 
With the setback, McKendree drops to 1-1 on the season, while Quincy moves to 1-0 on the year.
 
The teams began the match by playing doubles as Quincy came away with the doubles point after winning two of the three matches played as McKendree's lone win in doubles came at the No. 3 spot as Maria Vitoria Salomao (Minas Geraids, Brazil/Belo Horizonte) and sophomore Emily Kettering (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community West) won 6-2 over QU's Juliana Vidal and Paula Martinez.
 
Quincy won the other two doubles matches as they won at the No. 1 spot, 7-6 (7-3) over McKendree's No. 1 team of junior Viola Cipriani (Arezzo, Italy/Liceo Classico Francesco Petrarca) and Camilla Fonseca (Rio de Janerio, Brazil/Colegio Saber) and at the No. 2 spot, 6-2 over junior Mariana Caicedo Mora (Cucuta/Colombia/American International School of Mallorca) and sophomore Rhyan Cook (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North).
 
In singles competition, McKendree won at No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but Quincy would win at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 to seal the match win.
 
Ciprani picked up a 7-5, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Steffi Lao, while Salomao was leading 5-3 in the first set over Nicole Lao before Lao was forced to retire to give Salomao the win and Kettering won 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot over Martinez.
 
Fonseca fell 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 1 singles spot over Leila Leist-Alston.
 
Cook would win 6-2 in the first set at the No. 3 spot over Blanca Salas Cruz, befoe falling 7-6 in the second set to set up a third set. In the third set, Cook led 2-0 before being forced to retire that allowed Salas Cruz to earn the win.
 
The Bearcats will return to the court this coming weekend (Sept. 18-20) as they travel to Indianapolis, Ind., to compete in the 2021 ITA Regional Championship.