The University of Minnesota Duluth women's tennis team continued its four-match homestand, competing hard with the University of Mary but were ultimately unable to hand the Marauders what would have been only their second defeat on the season. UMD falls to a 1-5 record in the first half of their season.

The Marauders swept UMD in doubles. The Bulldogs' pairings remained the same from yesterday's matchup: senior captain Natalie Cahill and junior Sophie Lynch in the No. 1 spot, senior captain Isabel Thiner and freshman Shay Callaway in the No. 2 spot, and sophomore Emily Rahrick and freshman Abby Johnson in the No. 3 spot.

Shay Callaway (No. 5 singles) and Natalie Cahill (No. 2 singles) both built on their win streaks in singles; both now sit at 5-1 on the season and hold 5-match win streaks. Today proved a test for Callaway as she moved up to the No. 5 singles spot over her traditional No. 6 spot, and she passed the test with ease, coming away with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 victory. Mallory Lithun (No. 3) also took her match for UMD, helping bring the team to an overall split with UMary in singles. Sophie Lynch (No. 1), Emily Rahrick (No. 4), and Isabel Thiner (No. 6) all showed improvement in their performances but were not able to put up wins against the Marauders.

Head Coach Jessica Worden was encouraged by the effort her team put in today. "Today was definitely an improvement when it comes to our performance! It was fun to see our team start to rise to the occasion. To battle against UMary down to the last 6 singles as a point to decide the match is a great feeling. We had many matches last season that came down to the final position, and it was fun to get back into close competition. It would have been great to give UMary their second loss of the season, but now we look forward to proving ourselves better in the conference tournament."

Mallory Lithun also saw improvement in her team's performance: "Today everyone battled and gave it their all. I think we improved not only our physical game, but our mental game as well. Having a positive mindset and a clear head is critical during our matches. I'm excited for our future matches and watching all of us grow as a team."

While the Bulldogs won't play again for another month, Worden knows how critical this break will be going into the final season sprint: "Over the break, we hope to focus on self-care, mental toughness, and preparing to be tougher when we return to the court!"

UMD will return to the Duluth Indoor Sports Center on March 27th to take on the Beavers of Bemidji State.

To see the full season schedule, click here.