The University of Minnesota Duluth women's tennis team opened a four-match homestand today, taking on MSU-Moorhead at the Duluth Indoor Tennis Center. Despite ultimately dropping the match 5-2, the Bulldogs showed improvement and continue to grow as a team.

The No. 3 doubles pair of sophomore Emily Rahrick and freshman Abby Johnson took the lone doubles win of the afternoon, taking a commanding 6-1 victory. The No. 1 pair, consisting of senior captain Natalie Cahill and junior Sophie Lynch, and No. 2 pair (senior captain Isabel Thiner and sophomore Mallory Lithun) both battled hard but dropped tough sets. Thinner and Lithun had multiple match points but were ultimately unable to capitalize.

In singles, No. 2 Natalie Cahill won in straight sets, 7-5. Freshman Shay Callaway played in the No. 6 spot and took the Bulldogs' other singles win, taking her sets 6-4 and 6-2. Sophie Lynch (No. 1), Mallory Lithun (No. 3), Emily Rahrick (No. 4), and Isabel Thiner (No. 5) lost against tough Moorhead opponents. With their wins, both Cahill and Callaway have improved their singles records to 4-1 this season.

Head coach Jessica Worden is proud of her team's effort so far this season: "Today was another tough loss. Right now, our team's talent isn't reflected in our season record. We are continuing to strive for that next level of competition each match. We are looking forward to a new day and a new match tomorrow against Mary!"

Freshman Shay Callaway echoes her coach's enthusiasm. "Every match day we have is super exciting, knowing that everyone is bringing their best game. We have each other's backs in doubles and positive energy in singles. Today was a tough loss, but we learned from it and will bring even more for tomorrow." 

The Bulldogs return to the Duluth Indoor Sports Center tomorrow for a match against the University of Mary beginning at 9:00 am.

To see the full season schedule, click here.