ORLANDO – Opening its spring break trip on World Tennis Day, the Haverford College women's tennis team topped NCAA Division II Winona State, 8-1, on Tuesday morning. The convincing victory, in which the Fords swept each of the singles matches, gives Haverford its first team win of the spring season. The Fords are now 1-1 overall in the early portion of the spring season.
The Fords received a boost right from start when Winona State (6-5) was unable to field a third doubles pairing and a No. 6 singles player. The Fords carried that advantage into singles as the No. 2 doubles pairing of Greta Koch and Abby Payson picked up their first win together with an 8-2 victory. The Division II Warriors scored their only team point of the afternoon at the top doubles slot behind an 8-3 victory.
Moving into singles competition, both Caitlin Gallagher and Robyn Himelstein bounced back with sound victories in singles play. As a team, the Fords did not allow the opposition more than three games in a single set and six games over the course of any of the five straight set victories. Himelstein faced the staunchest challenge of the singles play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 3 singles. Gallagher exacted revenge from the doubles match by blanking her opponent in the opening set at the top singles spot, while securing the straight set win with a 6-3 second set.
Koch (No. 2 singles) and Payson (No. 4 singles) added two singles points to the Fords' score after securing No. 2 doubles. Koch picked up her first win by allowing just five games, winning 6-3, 6-2. Payson allowed just one game in the first set and two in the second set for her second win of the spring. Jessica Liu, who also received the default victory for No. 3 doubles along with teammate Kristen Andersen, made it three wins in a row for her dating back to the fall with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Courtney Ahmed was credited with the default win at No. 6 singles.
After a single match to kick off the competition slate in the Sunshine State, women's tennis will now play St. Scholastica and St. Mary's (Ind.) on Wednesday.
Read more about World Tennis Day
Video: Pa. state Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown thanks the House of Representatives for approving her resolutions honoring March 10, 2015 as "World Tennis Day" in Pennsylvania and also "National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day" in Pennsylvania.