Cheney, Wash. - The Eastern Washington University women's tennis suffered a setback against Big Sky Conference opponent Idaho State, 2-5, at home on Friday, Mar. 4.

Eastern drops to 9-5 with the loss and 3-2 in league play. Despite the loss, EWU is still tied for the most overall wins in the conference.

The Eagles continue to excel in doubles, earning the point for the sixth straight match, dating back to their win over Lewis-Clark State on Feb. 13. In the No. 1 position, sophomore Janaya Smith and freshman Faye Worrall defeated the team of Nonie Alexandersen and Wiebke Boeckmann, 6-3.  The tandem of junior Dani Young and junior Katrina Domingo secured the second match, taking down Laura Theus and Taylor Cole, 6-3.

Eastern pulled in one victory during the singles competition, but battled through multiple tiebreakers and three-set matches. Senior Moira Hedberg secured the first match in the No. 2 spot, beating Svenja Tegtmeier 6-1, 6-4. Smith fought Kasey Bacon in the longest match of the afternoon. After dropping the first set 5-7, she took the second set 7-5. After competitive back-and-forth play, the final set was 6-6 with the tiebreaker to end it.  Despite all her efforts, Smith dropped the tiebreaker 7-5, along with the match. Worrall's match finished with a similar outcome, trading sets with Cole 6-3, 3-6. Eventually Cole took the win in a tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4).

Head Coach Dustin Hinson shared his thoughts on the match, "Overall, this was a very disappointing match for us to lose because we know we are a much better team than what we showed. Our effort was good and we fought hard but we just didn't execute at key moments in the match. We were literally two points away from pulling out the team win...those are the kind of chances we are looking for and the type of situations where we need to trust our game plan and execute. We will bounce back and continue working hard because we know we have better days ahead of us."

Next on the schedule the Eagles hit the road against Sacramento State on Sunday, Mar. 20.

Results:

Eastern Washington – 2

Idaho State – 5

Doubles:

1. SMITH, Janaya/WORRALL, Faye (EWU) def. Nonie Alexandersen/Wiebke Boeckmann (ISU) 6-3

2. HEDBERG, Moira/BLESSING, Erin (EWU) vs. Svenja Tegtmeier/Kasey Bacon (ISU) 3-4, unfinished

3. YOUNG, Dani/DOMINGO, Katrina (EWU) def. Laura Theus/Taylor Cole (ISU) 6-3

Singles:

1. Kasey Bacon (ISU) def. SMITH, Janaya (EWU) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5)

2. HEDBERG, Moira (EWU) def. Svenja Tegtmeier (ISU) 6-1, 6-4

3. Wiebke Boeckmann (ISU) def. SWINDELL, Rachel (EWU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

4. Nonie Alexandersen (ISU) def. YOUNG, Dani (EWU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1

5. Laura Theus (ISU) def. BLESSING, Erin (EWU) 6-3, 6-3

6. Taylor Cole (ISU) def. WORRALL, Faye (EWU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)