STERLING, Ill. – The Carroll University women's tennis team battled down to the final matches Friday evening before falling 4-3 to Augustana in a tightly contested CCIW matchup.
The Pioneers found themselves in an early hole after Augustana claimed all three doubles flights. The closest contest came at No. 3 doubles, where Madison Siminski and Nawal Souki pushed their opponents to a tiebreak before narrowly dropping a 7-6 decision. At No. 1 doubles, Natasa Pupovac and Katherine Trifilio fell 7-5, while the No. 2 duo of Mia Franke and Gracie Niebler came up short 6-2.
Needing a strong effort in singles play, Carroll responded by winning three of the six matches. Pupovac earned a hard-fought comeback victory at the top spot, rallying after dropping the opening set to defeat Maripaz Ramirez 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. Trifilio followed with a straight-set victory at No. 2 singles, posting a 6-3, 6-1 result.
The Pioneers picked up their third point at No. 6 singles, where Siminski cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Augustana secured the team win by taking the remaining three singles flights. Franke forced a third set at No. 3 singles before ultimately falling 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, while Niebler and Souki were defeated at Nos. 4 and 5 singles, respectively.
Despite the setback, Carroll showed resilience by claiming three singles wins after being swept in doubles and nearly completing the comeback against the Vikings.The Pioneers will look to rebound as they travel to La Crosse on to take on the Eagles Sunday at noon.
