Covenant Women's Tennis Goes 1-2 On Florida Trip

The Covenant women's tennis team embarked on a two-day trip to the Orlando-area and went 1-2 against Division III foes. On Mondaynight, the Lady Scots were defeated by Otterbein 6-3, then on Tuesday Covenant took down Emerson 8-1 before falling to Trine 5-4.

The 1-2 trip puts Covenant at 4-4 on the year.

In the loss to Otterbein (6-3) on Monday night at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Covenant fell behind in doubles play and would not be able to rally in singles in a 6-3 loss.

Annie DeLuca and Esther Eddy combined for a narrow, 9-7 win at No. 1 doubles over Otterbein's Sydney Bergman and Makayla Sutter. 

In singles play, Aly Hall defeated Bergman 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 1 spot, while DeLuca took a 6-4, 7-6(5) victory over Sutter at the second flight. Eddy and Mackenzie Jones nearly pulled out wins in their contests, but Eddy fell in three sets to Sophie Allen 3-6, 7-6(3), 1-0 (10-8) at the third flight and Jones suffered a 7-5, 7-6(5) setback to Megan Stuteville at No. 6.

On Tuesday, Covenant played two matches starting with Emerson in the morning at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs. The Lady Scots took close victories in doubles play and then rode that momentum through singles to seal the 8-1 win over Emerson (2-5).

DeLuca and Eddy were 8-6 winners over Alisha Parikh and Rachel Scalera at the top doubles spot, while Morgan McCain and Mariah Westra were also victorious by an 8-6 margin over Jolin Cheng and Cassia Burns at the third position. Hall and Spielman eased past Sabrina Jacobs and Mackenzie Swaney 8-2 at the second flight.

Holding a 3-0 lead, Covenant then took five of the six singles matches to secure the victory. Two of those singles wins came in three sets as DeLuca rallied after falling in set one to defeat Parikh 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-8) at the second position, while Jones also rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-2) victory at No. 6. Hall got the match-clincher for Covenant as she cruised past Jacobs 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1. McCain was a 6-0, 6-1 winner over Burns at No. 5, and Eddy took down Scalera 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3.

The road trip was completed on Tuesday night as Covenant and Trine went back-and-forth before Trine eked out a 5-4 victory.

Covenant fell behind 2-1 after doubles play as Hall and Spielman took the lone point in doubles for the Lady Scots with their 8-0 victory at No. 2 over Kinnsey Pass and Andrea Jordan. Hall and Spielman were 2-1 in doubles play during the two-day trip.

In singles play, Covenant nearly came back to get the win. Hall completed a perfect 3-0 trip with a 6-0, 6-4 victory at No. 1 over Trine's Madison Hatkevich. DeLuca outlasted Zoe Laubach in three sets 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (10-8) at the second position. Masha Lanska tallied a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Delaney Keirn at the No. 6 spot for the Lady Scots.

However, Trine (5-3) was able to hold on. Eddy fell to Pass in a three-set thriller that took extra points in the third set super tiebreak as Pass outlasted Eddy 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (16-14). McCain also suffered a narrow defeat at the No. 4 spot with a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Kyra Braun.

Covenant will travel to face Oglethorpe on Tuesday, March 13 in a makeup contest from the March 1 rain out. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m. in Atlanta.