HILLSDALE - The Saginaw Valley State University women's tennis team traveled to Hillsdale College on Sunday (10/12) for a key Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) showdown and came away with a 5-4 victory over the Chargers.
It was a match between the current #8 and #9 seeds in the conference, as only the top-eight advance to participate in the annual GLIAC Women's Tennis Tournament. SVSU remains ahead of Hillsdale with a record of 4-6 while Hillsdale now stands at 3-8 overall.
The SVSU ladies took a 2-1 lead heading into singles play after the teams of Meghan Woody / Danielle Slonac (8-5) and Shea Donahue / Lauren Sharp (8-3) posted wins at the #2 and #3 doubles positions, respectively.
Abigail Shonk and Sharp would record a pair of quick victories for the Cardinals in the #5 and #6 singles positions over their opponents. Shonk claimed a 6-0, 6-2 win while Sharp won her match by a 6-1, 6-0 margin.
Hillsdale got wins at #2 and #3 singles to knot the score at 4-4 with one more match on the court. Once again, it was Donahue out on the court with the final match at #4 singles. She took the first set 7-6 but fell in the second 3-6 to set up an crucial third set. Donahue came up clutch, posting a 6-2 victory in set #3 to win the matchup and seal the win for the Cards.
"We knew this would be an extremely close match," stated SVSU Head Coach Jenn Boehm. "Our girls have been in the trenches all season and they really deserved and earned this hard-fought victory. These girls are true competitors!"
The team returns to action on Saturday (10/28) when it hosts Northwood University in a 10:00 am match at the SVSU Tennis Complex.
