The Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team won its third-consecutive match to open up the season, as the 20th-ranked Spartans picked up a 7-2 win over 38th-ranked Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday morning.
The win was the second-straight against a nationally-ranked opponent for the Spartans, and their fifth-consecutive victory, dating back to the 2015 season. Case Western Reserve improved to 3-0 overall on the year, while Kalamazoo dropped to 1-1.
CWRU's third doubles pairing of senior Michelle Djohan and junior Jennifer Lowe picked up a win to remain undefeated during the spring with a 3-0 record in dual matches. In addition, Djohan, senior Surya Khadilkar and freshman Jessica Liu all notched singles victories on Sunday to each improve to 3-0 in singles play for the campaign.
Djohan and Lowe started the Spartans off with a victory, defeating Eloise Germic and Maya Srkalovic 8-1 at third doubles, with senior captain Taylor Sweeney and sophomore Nina Cepeda following with an 8-1 win at second doubles over Maria Franco and Sonal Bahl. CWRU's one doubles loss came in the first match, where, despite a late comeback attempt, sophomore Nithya Kanagasegar and Khadilkar fell to Sarah Woods and Sabrina Dass, 8-6.
Djohan earned a quick singles victory over Siani Johnson in the fourth match to boost the Spartans' team lead to 3-1. After a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win for Liu over Dass at third singles, Sweeney clinched the team win for Case Western Reserve with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph in the second singles contest against Franco.
The Hornets got a point back after Woods defeated Kanagasegar at first singles, 6-3, 6-3. However, CWRU finished the day with a pair of emphatic wins, with Khadilkar defeating Germic 6-0, 6-0 at fifth singles, and Cepeda picking up the victory over Katie Clark, 6-0, 6-1, at sixth singles.
After a week off from competition, the Spartans will resume their spring schedule at Allegheny College on Saturday, February 27th and at the University of Rochester on Sunday, February 28th.
