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After winning at Wartburg’s home courts on Sunday, the Luther women’s tennis team made its second straight trip to Waverly, Iowa, this time to face Grinnell in a neutral site match. The evening match started with singles before finishing with doubles under the lights. The Norse played well, grabbing a 4-2 advantage in singles before winning a pair of doubles match to account for the 6-3 victory.
Lola White-Baer, Maggie Helms, and Adriana DePaolis all performed admirably at the top of the lineup with each of them walking away with a straight set victory. White-Baer knocked off Grinnell’s Shirlene Luk (6-3, 6-2) at No. 1 while Helms topped Sadhana Athreya by a (6-4, 6-2) margin at No. 2. DePaolis finished off a sweep of the top three singles spots by defeating Virginia Purcell (6-2, 6-3). The Norse nailed down a key fourth point when Olivia Heitz outlasted Shanaz Daneshdoost (6-4, 5-7, (10-7)) at No. 5. The Pioneers tallied wins at No. 4 and No. 6 to make it 4-2 in favor of Luther heading into doubles. Hannah Feldman edged Luther’s Jenna Myers by a (6-4, 7-5) margin at No. 4 while Emma MacDonald beat Lauren Welch (6-2, 6-3) at No. 6.
After Grinnell narrowed the match to 4-3 with a dominating performance at No. 1 doubles, the Norse clinched the match when Helms and Welch cruised past Daneshdoost and MacDonald at No. 2, winning (8-2). It is the first time that Helms and Welch have paired together this season. Jenna Myers and Olivia Heitz maintained their superb play this fall, winning (8-5) against Purcell and Feldman at No. 3 to round out the scoring.
The Norse are now 4-2 overall this season with a 2-0 mark in the Iowa Conference. Luther will be back on the courts to host Coe on Sunday, Sept. 15 in Decorah, Iowa. Start time is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
Questions? Contact David Blanchard, post_to_results, 563-387-1586