SEARCY, Ark. – The McKendree University women's tennis team concluded its two-match weekend here Sunday afternoon by suffering a 7-0 setback against 47th-ranked Harding University at the Elliott Tennis Complex.
With the setback, the Bearcats dropped its third consecutive match as they fell to 4-5 on the season, while Harding improved to 12-4 on the season.
"Even though the results don't show, our women are improving every day. The tough competition is preparing us for a highly competitive conference season," McKendree head coach René Vidal said.
The teams began Sunday's match, which was held 24 hours after the Bearcats suffered a 5-2 home loss on Saturday against Rockhurst, with three doubles matches and for the fourth time this season the Bearcats were able to win at least one of three doubles matches.
Harding picked up wins in doubles at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, while McKendree prevented a sweep in doubles as junior
Mariana Caicedo Mora (Cucuta, Colombia/American International School of Mallorca) and sophomore
Rhyan Cook (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) picked up a 6-4 win over Harding's No. 2 team of Romane Britt and Lindy Carpenter.
Cook and Mora won their second consecutive match and improved its record to 4-2 on the season.
Following the completion of doubles, the teams turned their attention to singles as the Lady Bisons won all six of the matches to pick up the match win.
In singles, the Bearcats won a total of 32 games, including going to a third set tiebreaker at No. 2 singles between sophomore
Camilla Fonseca (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Colegio Saber) and Britt. Fonseca lost the first set, 6-3, while she won the second set, 6-4 to force tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker, Britt won 10-3 to earn the point.
Sophomore
Emily Kettering (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community West) lost at No. 6 singles she played to a tiebreaker in the first set with Joee Crocker, 7-6 (7-5), but Crocker lost 6-0 in the second set.
Mora won six games at No. 4 singles against Jing Yang as she lost 7-5, 6-1.
At No. 1 singles, junior
Viola Cipriani (Arezzo, Italy/Liceo Classico Francesco Petrarca) lost 6-4, 6-0 to Harding's Lina Romero.
The other two singles matches (No. 3 and No. 4) were won by Harding by identical 6-1, 6-3 scores.
McKendree will return to action next Friday, April 1 as they travel to Elsah, Ill., for 5:15 p.m. match at Principia College. That match will be the first of three matches next weekend for the Bearcats as they host Illinois-Springfield for an 11 a.m. Great Lakes Valley Conference match on Saturday, April 2 at the tennis courts on the McKendree campus and then conclude the weekend with a 1 p.m. match on Alumni Day on April 3 against Webster University at Triad High School in Troy, Ill.
