Both Holy Cross men's and women's tennis were in action this weekend. Both squads faced off against Judson in a strong weekend for the Saints. The men took down Judson 4-1, while the women swept away the Eagles, 4-0.
Freshman spark men's squad
The Saints got off to a tight start. Despite winning comfortably on court No. 1, the Saints dropped their doubles set on the third court. That brought it down to a competitive No. 2 doubles match. However, the freshmen duo of Karel Blom and Ciaran McCarthy came in clutch. They brought home a victory by a 7-5 decision to seal the doubles point for Holy Cross.McCarthy and Blom both contributed in singles as well. McCarthy took down the No. 6 singles with ease, by a final score of 6-1, 6-2. Blom sealed the victory with a three-set victory, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2. Between McCarthy and Blom's victories, their classmate Perry Gregg dominated at the top court. He dropped just four games in a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Holy Cross dropped just one match in the contest, losing at No. 2 singles. Blom's win ended the clash, leaving Courts No. 4 and 5 unfinished.
This match represented Holy Cross's conference opener, and they improved to 6-9. It's a solid opening win for them, as Judson entered 1-0 in CCAC play and fell to just 10-6 overall.
Women enjoy drama-free victory
While the men's team had some semblance of drama, with a few tight matches left unfinished and a hotly-contested doubles point, the women experienced a clean sweep of the Eagles.Starting at doubles, the Saints started things off authoritatively. At the top court, sophomores Helga Lopez and Anna Beer didn't drop a game en route to a 6-0 victory. Courts two and three both ended at nearly the same time, with Holy Cross claiming a 6-4 victory on both courts. The sweep of the doubles gave the Saints an early 1-0 lead in the match.
Singles presented few issues for the Holy Cross women. Beer dominated her contest at No. 3 singles, winning 6-4, 6-0. She was one of four Saints' singles players to take a set without dropping a game. Junior Clara Ruediger added her name to the list with a 6-3, 6-0 list at the fifth court. The early wins boosted the Saints' lead to 3-0, putting them on the precipice of victory. Freshman Bente Burgerdijk notched the other victory. She won 6-4, 4-0 in a match in which her opponent retired early. At the time of the victory, Holy Cross led at court No. 6 and was headed to the third set at courts one and four.
Record-wise, it was another upset for the Saints. They improved to 5-12 and beat Judson (7-4).
Both the men and the women next compete at the Indiana Wesleyan University Tournament, starting on Thursday, March 31.
