Women's Tennis begins season with victories over Aurora, Benedictine

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin's Women's Tennis team won a pair of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference matches during the opening weekend of its 2013-14 season, which included many freshmen in the lineup.

The Falcons downed Aurora University, 5-4, and Benedictine University, 5-4, at North Shore Country Club on Saturday. CUW was led by sophomores Ashley Knoll (Wilmot, Wis.) and Amanda Ropiak (Franklin, Wis.) who each went 2-0 in singles play.

"Since we are in a rebuilding year with losing our top three from last year, I think we stood strong," head coach Steve Anschutz said. "Our team is deep and that is the key to our wins here. Our depth is nice, but we have many things to work on in this season if we want to finish strong in the NACC."

CUW (2-0, 2-0 NACC) fell behind AU (0-1, 0-1 NACC) after dropping two of the first three doubles matches. The freshmen duo of Alisia Macioch (South St. Paul, Minn.) and Michaela Wagner (Oswego, Ill.) won 8-3 for the Falcons only doubles point.

Senior Kristine Weber (Rochester Hills, Mich.) won at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-4 and Ropiak claimed a 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 win at No. 4 singles. Knoll also captured a No. 5 singles win by score of 6-0, 6-1.

The Falcons afternoon contest began stronger with a 2-1 lead after doubles play, however, they dropped a singles match at No. 1 and No. 3 to edge out a victory.

"Emily McCormick and Ashley Knoll both played extremely well against Benedictine and the other coaches both complimented these two players a lot," Anschutz said. "We definitely learned a lot through this match and we need to continue to develop our doubles skills in order to become a stronger team."

CUW returns to the court on Wednesday with a 4 p.m. NACC matchup against Alverno College.

Concordia Wisconsin 5, Aurora 4

Singles competition
1. Savellano, Christy (AU) def. Sapp, Jessica (CUW) 7-5, 6-2
2. Madison, Chloe (AU) def. McCormick, Emily (CUW) 6-4, 6-4
3. Weber, Kristine (CUW) def. Hankes, Jordan (AU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Ropiak, Amanda (CUW) def. Matayka, Abby (AU) 6-3, 4-6, 10-7
5. Knoll, Ashley (CUW) def. Kuntzi, Emily (AU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Richerson, Kate (AU) def. Schmitz, Rachel (CUW) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles
1. Madison, Chloe/Savellano, Christy (AU) def. Weber, Kristine/Sapp, Jessica (CUW) 8-4
2. McCormick, Emily/Ropiak, Amanda (CUW) def. Hankes, Jordan/Matayka, Abby (AU) 8-5
3. Macioch, Alisia/Wagner, Michaela (CUW) def. Findlay, Melanie/Kuntzi, Emily (AU) 8-3

Match Notes
Aurora 0-1, 0-1 NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 1-0, 1-0 NACC

Concordia Wisconsin 5, Benedictine 4

Singles
1. Goyao, Micah (BU) def. Sapp, Jessica (CUW) 6-0, 6-1
2. McCormick, Emily (CUW) def. Iway, Vivianna (BU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Haifleigh, Kam (BU) def. Weber, Kristine (CUW) 6-2, 6-3
4. Ropiak, Amanda (CUW) def. Savio, Anna (BU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Knoll, Ashley (CUW) def. MacLachlan, Anna (BU) 6-0, 6-1
6. Schmitz, Rachel (CUW) def. No player (BU), by default

Doubles
1. Iway, Vivianna/Haifleigh, Kam (BU) def. Weber, Kristine/Sapp, Jessica (CUW) 8-2
2. Savio, Anna/Goyao, Micah (BU) def. Paykel, Hayley/Kuehl, Kierra (CUW) 9-8 (7-3)
3. Macioch, Alisia/Wagner, Michaela (CUW) def. No player/No player (BU), by default

Match Notes
Benedictine 0-2, 0-2 NACC
Concordia Wisconsin 2-0, 2-0 NACC