The 16th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's tennis team opened the weekend with a 4-3 win over 22nd-ranked Kenyon College at the Mayfield Village Racquet Club in Mayfield, Ohio, on Friday afternoon.

The Spartans improved to 7-2 with the victory, while the Owls dropped to 8-4.

CWRU needed to win the last two doubles matches after Kenyon won the matchup at second doubles 6-1. At first doubles, senior Lily McCloskey and junior Katalina Wang defeated Eleni Lazaridou and Hana Nouaime 6-2, and at third doubles, graduate student Laurel Utterback and junior Ellior Rose secured the doubles point with a 6-2 victory over Ana Brand and Lalasa Nagireddy.

The doubles win was the 77th of McCloskey's career, breaking a tie for the career program record of 76 set by Nithya Kanagesagar in 2018. This season, McCloskey is 14-2 in doubles matches after winning 25 last season, 21 as a sophomore, and 17 during her first year at CWRU.

Wang opened singles play with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Shadia Amado Aguad on the third court. Utterback followed with a win on the second court, defeating Brand 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. After a loss at first singles made the score 3-1 in favor of CWRU, junior Asha Shukla secured the victory for the Spartans with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Nouaime at fifth singles.

The Owls won the fourth and sixth singles matches in three sets, making the final score 4-3.

The Spartans will continue their three-match weekend homestand on Saturday with a contest against Ohio Northern at the LaTuchie Tennis Center in Stow, Ohio, beginning at 5 p.m.

Spartan Notes

• Case Western Reserve improved to 8-2 over Kenyon since 2011, including wins in the last four matches
• CWRU has won the doubles point in all nine of its dual matches so far this season