The 17th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team defeated the 12th-ranked University of Mary Washington 6-3 on the first day of the Blue-Gray Invitational on Friday evening at the University Tennis Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

The Spartans improve to 10-1 on the season while the Eagles fall to 4-2.

After taking a loss at second doubles, Case Western Reserve responded with two wins to take a 2-1 lead going into singles play. Sophomore Katherine Wang and first-year Radha Patel defeated Hana Kimmey and Emily Beckner 8-5 at third doubles to tie the score. First-years Hannah Kassaie and Lily McCloskey earned an 8-6 win over Lauren Quinn and Abigail Moghtader at first doubles to give CWRU the lead.

Patel started singles play with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Amanda Hagino at fourth singles. Mary Washington grabbed another point at second singles to cut into the Spartan lead, but Case Western Reserve took the next three points to secure the victory. At first singles, Kassaie won 6-1, 6-3 over Moghtader. At third singles, first-year Madeleine Eiss rebounded from a doubles loss with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Quinn to clinch the match. Sophomore Pallavi Goculdas added a 5-7, 6-2, 10-7 win at sixth singles for the sixth Spartan point.

The Spartans will face #19 Skidmore College on Saturday at 4 p.m. on the second day of the invitational.