O'FALLON, Ill. - McKendree University women's tennis captured its first two victories of the 2024 spring season on Friday and Saturday. The Bearcats defeated Missouri Baptist University on Friday 6-1 and Quincy University on Saturday 6-1.  

On Friday, McKendree began the day with three doubles wins. In the No.1 match, fifth-year senior Viola Cipriani and senior Camilla Fonseca won 7-5 while senior Maria Vitoria Salomao and junior Sofija Djunisijevic took the No.2 match 6-1. In the No.3 match, senior Rhyan Cook and junior Pien Ruempol grabbed a 6-2 victory.  

In singles play, McKendree secured five wins including Cipriani in the No.2 match who defeated Luana Luersen 6-2, 6-2. At the No.3 match, Cook secured a 6-3, 6-0 win over Jocelynn Carmondy while sophomore Iva Poleksic defeated Nina Vasilijkovic 6-1, 6-3. Rounding out the singles wins were Djunisijevic at 6-0, 6-3 over Mia McIsaac and Salomao over Mariana Azevedo 6-1, 6-1. 

Against Quincy, the Bearcats proceeded in the same fashion, taking wins in all doubles matches and five of the six singles matches. In doubles, the No.1 duo of Fonseca and Cipriani won 6-4 in addition to wins from Salomao and Djunisijevic in the No.2 match 7-5 and Ruempol and Cook in the No.3 match 6-2.  

In singles matches, Fonseca defeated Mahi Panchal 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 at the No.1 spot. For the No.2 match, Cipriani went to three sets with Steffi Lao, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 while Poleksic grabbed a 6-3, 6-4 win against Anna Matino at the No.4 spot. Djunisijevic posted scores of 6-0, 6-2 against Ana Alvarez while Salomao rounded out the victories with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep against Nora Hennessy.  

Up next, McKendree is on the road for matches against Northwest Missouri State University and Drury University on Friday and Saturday.