The Western Illinois University Leathernecks women’s tennis team defeated the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 6-1 in their Ohio Valley Conference opener, according to a March 14 announcement from the university.
This win marks a strong start for the Leathernecks as they begin conference play. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level and is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference, according to the official website.
The match began with Western Illinois securing the doubles point. Richardlyne Francois and Madeleine Whip won their match 6-2 at No. 3 doubles, while Mana Fawcett and Jessica Hess clinched another victory at No. 1 doubles with a score of 6-3. Chloe Routier and Nadezhda Petkova were defeated at No. 2 doubles, falling short with a score of 3-6.
In singles play, Denver Johnson was first to finish, winning decisively at No. 6 singles with scores of 6-1, 6-0. Madeleine Whip followed with a straight sets victory (6-4, 6-0), and Chloe Routier secured the fourth point for Western Illinois by winning her match (6-4, 6-3). After these results clinched the overall team win, remaining matches went to third-set tiebreaks: Mana Fawcett lost her close contest (3-6, 6-4, 10-7), Richardlyne Francois came back after dropping her first set to win (4-6, 6-3, 10-2), and Nour Gueblaoui prevailed in a long match (7-6, 6-7, 13-11).
Western Illinois University Leathernecks Women’s Tennis operates from Macomb, Illinois and draws student-athletes from diverse global backgrounds according to the official website. The program has previously seen individual recognition; in 2017 one player earned The Summit League Women’s Tennis Player of the Week honor according to the official website.
Looking ahead, Western Illinois will travel to Nashville to face Tennessee State on Wednesday, March 18 as they continue their conference schedule.
