CHENEY, Wash -- Eastern Washington University women's tennis defeated North Dakota by a team score of 5-2 in a Big Sky matchup today (Feb. 25), which also marked their first win of the season.

"I'm extremely pleased for the whole team today," head coach Dustin Hinson said. "They have been fighting and scrapping so hard for everything. I wanted that to be rewarded with a win and they got it today. We had a great week of practice and we all felt good going into today's match."

Sophomore Faye Worrall started off the competition in the No. 1 singles spot and collected the first singles win of the day for the Eagles by defeating her opponent Mimi Yunker 7-6, 6-1. This win gives the sophomore a perfect 2-0 start in Big Sky play.
 
Senior Erin Blessing had a battle in the No. 2 singles spot, but eventually lost to her opponent Preethi Kasilingam 7-5, 6-4. She is now 1-1 in the Big Sky. The other loss in the singles action was senior Katrina Domingo in the No. 4 spot against Faith Lee,  falling 6-1, 6-3.
 
Another match that was a close battle was when Junior Rachel Swindell defended her No. 3 singles spot by defeating Sophie Allen-Fisher 6-4, 7-5. Senior Carolina Lopez claimed the closest match of the day though with a match going into a tiebreaker for the third set. She defeated her opponent, Alex Revenig, 6-4, 6-7, 10-4.
 
Freshman Marta Heinen closed out the singles action with defeating her opponent, Alysse Nakasato 6-3 in both sets.

On the doubles side, the Eagles were able to collecting wins in all doubles competition, giving them the 1-0 lead going into singles action. Worrall and junior Janaya Smith teamed up in the No. 1 spot and defeated their opponent 6-4. In the second spot, Blessing and Swindell won also by a score of 6-4. Freshman Valentina Sottile and Domingo did not finish their doubles match, but in the statbook the match ended in their favor, winning 4-3.
 
"We had a game plan and we executed," Hinson added. "I told everyone to strive for perfect energy and perfect effort in each point and nobody could take that away from them. They took that to heart and it really showed out there today. I'm really excited to keep this going and push for more successes."

The Eagles will continue competition this weekend by playing Fresno State tomorrow, Feb. 26 in Cheney at the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse. Matches will begin at 10 a.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
 
Eastern Washington 5, North Dakota 2
Singles competition
1. WORRALL, Faye (EWU) def. Yunker, Mimi (UND) 7-6, 6-1
2. Kasilingam, Preethi (UND) def. BLESSING, Erin (EWU) 7-5, 6-4
3. SWINDELL, Rachel (EWU) def. Allen-Fisher, Sophie (UND) 6-4, 7-5
4. Lee, Faith (UND) def. DOMINGO, Katrina (EWU) 6-1, 6-3
5. LOPEZ, Carolina (EWU) def. Revenig, Alex (UND) 6-4, 6-7 (0-3), 10-4
6. HEINEN, Marta (EWU) def. Nakasato, Alysse (UND) 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. WORRALL, Faye/SMITH, Janaya (EWU) def. Lee, Faith/Kasilingam, Preethi (UND) 6-4
2. BLESSING, Erin/SWINDELL, Rachel (EWU) def. Yunker, Mimi/Revenig, Alex (UND) 6-4
3. SOTTILE, Valentina/DOMINGO, Katrina (EWU) def. Nakasato, Alysse/Allen-Fisher, Sophie (UND) 4-3