Freshman Olivia Gorton captured the lone singles win for the University of Minnesota Duluth as the University of Minnesota Crookston played the role of spoiler in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener Friday afternoon in Virginia, Minn. The Golden Eagles tallied a 6-1 victory in the conference debut to hand the Bulldogs (2-1) their first loss of the 2025 season.

The Golden Eagles (3-2) notched just their second win over the Bulldogs in the past 10 outings dating back to 2015 as UMD was unable to avenge the loss it suffered last season to Minnesota Crookston. 

Gorton improved to 2-0 in singles action this season. She romped Kavya Singh in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) in the No. 5 spot.

"I felt today was a great day in terms of my singles match," said Gorton. "It was a match I was very proud of and I was able to grab a win for our team. Unfortunately, today didn't go in our favor but everyone worked very hard."

The Hopkins, Minn., native nabbed her other win -- also by straight sets -- against the College of Saint Scholastica as she and senior Olivia Honsey are tied for the team lead in wins this season in singles competition. Gorton nearly secured the doubles victory with her sophomore partner Courtney Eppen. The duo lost a close 7-5 contest to Blaike Zander and Asli Oktay. 

"We played well in certain areas but it didn't end up the way we wanted," said Eppen. "It was another great day of Bulldog tennis and we are ready to come back stronger tomorrow."

The Bulldogs have a rematch with season-opening opponent Bemidji State University, who UMD defeated 4-3 at the Duluth Indoor Sports Center back on Feb.8, tomorrow in Virginia, Minn. The Bulldog-Beaver collision will commence at 3:00 p.m.