NORTON, Mass. - Returning to the court for the first time since its inaugural NCAA Tournament run last May, the Wheaton College women's tennis team swept visiting Simmons College, 9-0 during Saturday's opener for both squads at the Clark Tennis Courts.  Simmons also competed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Wheaton's regionally-ranked doubles tandem of seniors Sarah Geocaris (Newport Beach, Calif./Sage Hill School) and Catherine Teague (Manchester, N.H./Central) set the early tone with an 8-3 victory over Shark junior Athena Lynch (Andover, Mass./Andover) and sophomore Sabrina Salmela (Beverly, Mass./Beverly) in the top slot.

The Lyons turned in a pair of 8-4 victories to complete the doubles sweep, with freshmen Lyndsay Cooke (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield Christian) and Madison Hartley (Charlotte, Vt./Rice Memorial) winning in the second position and senior Ellen Van Faasen (Manchester, Mass./Manchester Essex Regional) and junior Allesandra DiOrio (Cumberland, R.I./Lincoln School) picking up a victory at three.

Cooke shut out her opponent at third singles, while Teague and freshman Morgan Bell (Gloucester, Mass./Pingree School) yielded two games each at two and six, respectively.  In the first spot, Geocaris posted a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Salmela.  Van Faasen collected a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the fifth position, while Hartley needed a tiebreaker to slip past her opponent in straight sets at four.

The Lyons return to action one week from today, when they begin defense of their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title against Clark University at 1:00 p.m.