Women's Tennis Starts Road Trip With 5-2 Victory

Box Score SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. – In the first of four matches over five days in Florida, the St. Mary's Women's Tennis team defeated Indiana University Pennsylvania, 5-2.
 
Junior Gabi Ioannou (Melbourne, Australia) and senior Marina Vigil (Gijon, Spain) took care of business at No. 3 doubles, winning 6-2 and the Rattlers secured the point when the No. 1 team of senior Alice Thane (Elloughton, East Yorkshire, England) and sophomore Elena Munoz (Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico) won 6-4 over the 25th-ranked team in the nation. At #2, the duo of freshman Bailey Godwin (San Antonio) and senior Ashley Penshorn (Montgomery, Texas) dropped a close 7-6 (7-4) set to 8th-ranked Karolin Kirchtag and Katy Graydon.
 
Penshorn, ranked 12th in this week's ITA poll snapped back from the defeat in doubles to win 6-1, 6-3 in singles at the top flight, while Munoz kept things rolling with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6.
 
Both Thane at No. 3 and Vargas at No. 5, won in three sets, with the third sets going to tiebreaks. Thane dropped the first set 6-4, but bounced back to win the next two, 6-4 and 7-6, upsetting #68 Natasha Munday, while Vargas got a late break of serve to win the first set 7-5, dropped set two 6-3 and won a 7-6 thriller in the third stanza.
 
The two losses for the Rattlers were also three-set thrillers. Vigil lost the first set 6-3, came back to win the second set 6-4 and lost the third 6-4 to #13 Kirchtag. Ioannou at No. 4 won the opening set with a 6-4 tally, dropped set two 6-3 and fell 7-6 in the third.
 
St. Mary's continues the Florida trip on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Embry Riddle.