FULLERTON, Calif. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's tennis team was defeated by Hope International University, 7-0, this afternoon at the Fullerton Tennis Center in Fullerton, Calif. The Lyons fall to 2-4 on the season, while the Royals improve to 2-7.
Hope International swept doubles play to earn the first point of the match, earned by virtue of winning two out of three doubles matches, before taking all six singles matches in the dual match.
Sophomore Mareike Mueller (Amesbury, Mass.) won the only set of the day for Wheaton, taking the middle set, 7-6, at number four singles against Maxime Mendes, but dropped the opening frame, 6-2, before losing a tough third-set tie-breaker, 11-9. First year Izzy Kruse (Woodstock, Ga.) rebounded from a first set loss of 6-1 to Royals' junior Lisanne Siebrecht (Wesel, Germany) to take her to task in the second set, but fell, 7-5 at number five singles to surrender the match. Lyons' senior Katie Steinberg (Cumberland, Maine) won six games at third singles, but dropped the first set to 6-2, before succumbing in the second frame, 6-4, to Kirra Morris.
The top of the Hope International lineup lost just five games to set the tone for the rest of the team. Junior Carolina Guerrero Barrios (Queretaro, Queretaro) defeated Wheaton senior Miriam Galindo Cerrada (Madrid, Spain) 6-0, 6-2 at first singles, while Royals' junior Julia Ramos (Sydney, Australia) took down Alexis Acosta (Albuquerque, N.M.), 6-2, 6-1 at number two singles. First year Catrina Hibbard (Tehachapi, Calif.) dropped just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory at sixth singles over Lyons sophomore Zoe West (Flushing, N.Y.).
Ramos and Guerrero combined for a 6-1 win at number one doubles over the Wheaton duo of Galindo Cerrada and Mueller, while Mendes and Morris paired up for Hope International at second doubles for a 6-2 effort against Acosta and Steinberg. Siebrecht and first year Isabel Coscolluela (North Hollywood, Calif.) breezed past West and Kruse, 6-0, to take third doubles for the home team.
The Lyons will return to the court on Wednesday, March 16 when they head to Irvine, Calif. to take on Westcliff University at 3:30 p.m. EDT, while Hope International hosts University of Saint Katherine on March 18 at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
