KNOXVILLE, Tn- The women's tennis program picked up their first win of the season against the Tornado of Brevard College squeaking out a close 5-4 victory.
First challenge for the Royals came on the top court after a split between courts two and three. Lauren Murray and Paola Testa built an early 4-1 lead but quickly found themselves in a tight battle when their opponents evened up the match at 4-4. The Royals pair were able to regroup and use their strong net play and dominating serves to change momentum for an 8-4 victory.
Taking the doubles lead into doubles, the Royals would need two more victories after a default on court 6. The Tornado would get quick victories on courts 4 and 5, amping up the pressure on the top of the lineup. Freshman Paola Testa would put the Royals one win away after a 6-0, 6-2 win on the second singles court. Needing just one more win, energy turned to the showdown on the top court. Lauren Murray was able to jump out to a lead by taking the first set 6-4 but found herself in a tight second set. Despite having her opponent serve for the set at 5-4 in the second, Murray was able to score the break and finish the match with the momentum, winning 6-3, 7-5. This would be the final match the Royals needed and would push them to the 5-4 victory.
Coach Hale was excited after getting the early close win saying, "We had some real resilient play today in a difficult away environment. Our team is very young this year but we didn't play like it in our close matches today. Lauren showed excellent poise in her match to put away her opponent that had some weapons to really push her and Paola was able to get early leads in both sets that gave the other courts some confidence. 5-4 wins are always team wins and I was very happy that we could do that right away."
The women's tennis team will take the court again against Emory and Henry College this upcoming Tuesday.