Leathernecks drop contests to Wright State and Northern Illinois

GALESBURG, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's tennis team fell to Wright State, 7-0, before dropping a 6-1 contest to Northern Illinois, Saturday.

“Today was a mixed day,” Western Illinois head coach Michael Hunt said. “We didn't feel good about our performance with Wright State - they definitely outfought and outplayed us. We played better against Northern Illinois, but they are just a better team than us.”

Wright State earned the doubles point, but Amy Unzicker and Claire Griffin combined to take one court as they defeated Amy Nini and Jackie Garrett at the No. 3 spot. Stephanie Baumer took Wright State's Masha Peresetsky into three sets at No. 2 singles, falling by scores of 6-2, 5-7 and 1-0 (8).

Later in the day against Northern Illinois, Kate Kennedy and Baumer teamed up at No. 1 doubles, but fell 8-4 to Brooke Forsberg and Emily Rogers. Baumer and Marcela Brandao came closest to set wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, respectively. Baumer fell 6-4 and 6-3, while Brandao fell 6-3 and 6-4. The Fighting Leathernecks' only point came at No. 5 singles as Northern Illinois' Kelly Phillips retired with injury in the second set.

“I thought Kate (Kennedy) played well today - started coming out of her shell, a little bit, in both the doubles and singles against Northern,” Hunt said. “Amy and Claire had a nice comeback at No. 3 doubles against Wright State.”

The Leathernecks open Summit League competition in Las Vegas, Nev., March 18-20. The conference cluster begins at 9 a.m., with Western facing Centenary, Thursday, followed by a 9 a.m. match with UMKC, Friday and a 2 p.m. match wiht South Dakota State. The Leathernecks close out the three-day league action with Southern Utah, Saturday at 9 a.m.

“We've got one more week to practice before conference play starts. We hope to be outdoors and that will change a lot for us. It's hard for us to really get a lot of quality work in while we are inside Brophy Hall. So, we'll work hard next week and try to get everyone prepared for the start of the Summit League schedule,” Hunt said.

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Players Mentioned

Kate Kennedy: PLAYER; 5' 4"; Junior

Amy Unzicker: PLAYER; 5' 7"; Sophomore

Stephanie Baumer: PLAYER; 5' 10"; Senior

Claire Griffin: PLAYER; 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Kate Kennedy
: 5' 4"; Junior
: PLAYER

Amy Unzicker
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: PLAYER

Stephanie Baumer
: 5' 10"; Senior
: PLAYER

Claire Griffin
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: PLAYER