CONWAY, Ark. -- The John Brown University women's tennis team suffered a pair of losses to NCAA III squads in Hendrix (Ark.) and Ozarks (Ark.) as the Golden Eagles battled at the Hatcher Tennis Center this weekend (Feb. 14-15).
A pair of tiebreak losses thwarted John Brown's first victory of the season as Hendrix ran away with a 7-2 decision on Friday evening.
At the top singles' flight, sophomore Syndey Smith battled back from a 6-3 first set score to even the match with a 7-5 result in the second. The tiebreak would go to Rebecca Sherman, however, with a 10-2 tiebreak.
Sophomore Jadyn Engel suffered a similar fate in the fourth slot, dropping a 10-5 tiebreak after giving up a 6-2 advantage in the first set. Sara Hoopchuk's 6-1 second set score forced the tiebreak drama.
Freshmen Salasha McBride and Hayvnn Prude combined in doubled play for an 8-5 victory over Sarah Morris and Kashti Shah. It was the tandem's first collegiate doubles win.
Versus Ozarks, the Golden Eagles endured long rallies in singles play as two flights went to a combined 30-point tiebreaks apiece. Junior Katie Sandeno and Engel each picked up their first singles victories of the season at the third and fourth flights, respectively.
Sandeno finally ousted Lexy Corona 3-6, 6-3, 16-14 while Engel outlasted Kaitlin Gutierrez 1-6, 6-4, 16-14.
Smith improved her singles record to 3-2 this season with a 6-3, 6-1 sweep at the top flight, running past Karlee Hart with ease.
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The Golden Eagles will return to the courts from Feb. 28-29 at the LSU – Alexandria tennis tournament, hosted at the LSUA Tennis Courts in Alexandria.
