Box Score The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs tennis team took on in-town foe, the St. Scholastica Saints, in their season opener at home. We saw returning players Shay Callaway, Abby Johnson, and Isabel Resler in action. The Bulldogs got off to a 2-1 lead in doubles play before surrendering four of their six singles matches to the Saints.

Doubles  The No. 1 team of sophomore Shay Callaway and fifth year senior Isabel Resler had an 8-4 victory over the Saints.

The No. 2 team of Sophomore Abby Johnson and freshman Amanda Hanowski battled all the way to the end and came out victorious with an 8-7 tiebreaker win.

The No. 3 team of freshman Morgan Lueck and Allison Jondahl had a tough fight as they fell 8-0 in thier doubles match.

Singles  At the No. 1 spot, Callaway lost her opening set 6-4 but was able to tie it after winning the second set 6-3. Callaway then lost the third set 0-1 (10-3).

Resler, at the No. 2 spot, also had her match go to a tiebreaker. She lost her first set 6-4 and won a tightly contested second set 7-6. Resler then dropped her last set 0-1 (10-4).

For the No. 3 spot, Johnson swept her opponent in two sets, winning her first set 6-4 and her second set 6-2.

Amanda Hanowski filled up the No. 4 spot and lost in a tiebreaker as well. Hanowski lost her first set 6-4, won her second set 6-0, and lost the third set 0-1 (10-6).

Freshman Olivia Honsey played at the No. 5 spot winning both of her sets 6-3 and 7-6.

At the No. 6 position, junior Laura Palmer won her first set 6-2, but then dropped the second set 4-6 and the tiebreaker 0-1 (10-2)

Final  The final match results are a 4-5 lost for the Bulldogs and a 0-1 record to start the season.

With the first match in the books, here's what Head Coach Jessica Worden had to say. "The match against St. Scholastica is always my favorite of the year. Everyone on the team played a new position to start off and it came out great. With five out of six singles matches ending in a third set tiebreaker it couldn't have been any closer." Worden was extremely proud of freshman Olivia Honsey and had this to say about her match today. "She had a long hard battle at 5 singles and was able to pull out her first collegiate win tonight. Every time I talked with her, her attitude and court demeanor were positive and impressive. I can't wait to see her continue to grow as a player throughout the season."

Honsey was excited to start her collegiate career today and shared a few words with us as well. "I thought the matches went awesome! It was a great way to break the ice since both teams are located in Duluth. We were comfy with the atmosphere. I was just really excited to be competing on the courts with the whole team. Every single player moved so well and had the best attitudes! Go Dogs!"

The Bulldogs head to Grand Forks, N.D. tomorrow (February 5th) to start their conference play against Minnesota Crookston and then Bemidji State the following day.