SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A historic season for the Bellarmine University women's tennis team ended in the NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday at Midwest Region #1 host Drury, the fourth-seeded Knights were edged 4-5 by fifth-seeded Indianapolis in the opening round at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

Bellarmine (21-4) finished with the winningest season in program history. The Knights were co-champions of the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division with Indianapolis (16-6).

UIndy and Bellarmine were ranked Nos. 31 and No. 32 nationally heading into the NCAA Tournament, and Saturday's showdown reflected that competitive closeness. The contest wasn't decided until the final match — No. 6 singles.

And it was a battle. Bellarmine freshman Aubrey Smith defeated Dana Olsen 7-5 in the first set, but Olsen owned the second 6-1 and then nipped Smith 7-5 to clinch UIndy's victory.

The match seesawed back and forth. Junior Maggie Walroth and sophomore Ashley Jonathan defeated Hanna Volikova and Florence Renard 8-5 at No. 1 doubles for a 1-0 Bellarmine lead, and seniors Mairin Cotter and Bess Fley beat Dana Olsen and Paige Olsen 8-2 at No. 3 for a 2-0 advantage.

Indianapolis cut its deficit to 2-1 with a victory at No. 2 doubles. In singles play, the Greyhounds overtook the lead, 3-2, with victories at Nos. 1 and 2. Cotter knotted the match at 3-all with a dominant win at No. 5.

Indianapolis regained the advantage with a victory at No. 3 singles, but senior Marissa Kovach evened things up again for Bellarmine at 4-4 with a three-set win at No. 4. That set up the nail-biter at No. 6 as the Greyhounds advanced to meet Drury in the second round.

Kovach finishes her career as Bellarmine's all-time leader in wins. Jonathan set a single-season program record for victories with 41.

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