The 31st-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team turned in another strong performance on Sunday afternoon, as the Spartans defeated John Carroll University 5-4 at the Carlton Tennis Courts in Cleveland, Ohio.
CWRU improved to 7-7 overall on the season with the victory, while the Blue Streaks dropped to 9-4 on the campaign.
The Spartans were able to take two of the three doubles matches to carry a 2-1 advantage into the start of singles play. Sophomores Madeleine Paolucci and Nicole Cardwell bested Madisyn Rini and Lauren O'Malley 8-1 at first doubles to gain the early lead, followed by freshmen Sneha Karnam and Shreyaa Mukund earning an 8-3 victory over Skye Harwood and Megan Reese at second singles. CWRU's only loss in doubles play came at third doubles, after sophomore Mira Amin and freshman Nidhi Jha suffered an 8-5 setback against Alyssa Krupp and Carlye Campagna.
CWRU increased the lead to 3-1 after Cardwell defeated Rini 6-2, 6-0 at second singles. The Blue Streaks then took the next point at first singles to cut the Spartan lead to 3-2. Karnam would then earn a 6-2, 6-0 win over Krupp at fourth singles to take the 4-2 lead.
John Carroll won the next two points at sixth and fifth singles to even the match at 4-4. Amin then battled Reese at third singles and was able to take the deciding point with a 4-6, 6-1, 10-7 victory to secure the 5-4 Spartan victory.
The Spartans will continue their push towards the postseason next weekend, when the team travels to Chicago, Illinois to face 16th-ranked Washington University (Mo.) and the ninth-ranked University of Chicago on Saturday, April 13th.
