KANSAS CITY, Mo.--The Bellarmine University women's tennis team fell by the narrowest of margins today in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship, dropping a 5-4 decision to Missouri-St. Louis.

Today marked the second time the Tritons and Knights faced off this season, with Bellarmine getting the 5-4 victory back on Feb. 15.

In today's rematch, the Knights tallied the first point of the day when Evann Waschuk and Caitlin Hanley won their No. 1 doubles match 8-4 over Lina Parra and Chandler Duchaine. However, the Tritons rallied to win and Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to take a 2-1 advantage heading into singles.

Missouri-St. Louis put the first two points on the board winning the Nos 3 and 4 singles matches. With the next UMSL win assuring them victory, Bellarmine dug in and posted three straight points to square the match. First, Mairin Cotter won at the No. 6 position followed by Hanley collecting her second point of the day with a decisive 6-0, 6-4 victory at No. 2.  Marissa Kovach secured the tying point with a straight set win at No. 5.

With both teams having secured four points, the contest came down to No. 1 singles where Waschuk and Parra were battling it out in a tight 3-set match. Parra took the opening set 6-1, but Waschuk came back with a 6-3 win in the second set.  In the decisive third set Parra eked out a 6-4 victory to send the Tritons into the semifinals.

Although the Knights lost a heartbreaker, the team can take solace in a number of accomplishments in 2014-15. Tops on that list is a final season record of 14-3, which included an undefeated record at home and against non-conference foes.

Individually, Waschuk has etched her name in the Bellarmine record books as the third winningest player in school history with 99 victories to her credit. Also, Mairin Cotter accomplished quite a feat by going 17-0 in singles matches this season. 

Missouri-St. Louis 5, #9 Bellarmine 4
Apr 17, 2015 at Kansas City, MO 

Singles competition

1. Parra, Lina (UMSLW) def. Waschuk, Evann (BU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4

2. Hanley, Caitlin (BU) def. Verboven, Renee (UMSLW) 6-0, 6-4

3. Carvalhais, Natalia (UMSLW) def. Fley, Bess (BU) 6-1, 6-1

4. Cantalupo. Leanne (UMSLW) def. Thompson, Sydney (BU) 6-2, 6-0

5. Kovach, Marissa (BU) def. Hays, Annie (UMSLW) 7-6 (7-0), 6-2

6. Cotter, Mairin (BU) def. Smith, Selena (UMSLW) 6-2, 6-1

 

Doubles competition

1. Waschuk, Evann/Hanley, Caitlin (BU) def. Parra, Lina/Duchaine, Chandler (UMSLW) 8-4

2. Carvalhais, Natalia/Cantalupo. Leanne (UMSLW) def. Fley, Bess/Thompson, Sydney (BU) 8-5

3. Verboven, Renee/Hays, Annie (UMSLW) def. Kovach, Marissa/Landers, Sydney (BU) 8-4

 

Match Notes

Bellarmine 14-3; Regional ranking #9

Missouri-St. Louis 10-7

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,6,2,5,1)

2015 GLVC Women's Tennis Championship Quarterfinals - Match 2

Missouri-St. Louis advances to GLVC Championship semifinals Saturday at 9 a.m.