Related Links:
Kenyon Box Score
Hope Box Score

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's tennis team started play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Midwest Invitational at Cherokee Country Club Friday, playing against Kenyon (Ohio) and Hope (Mich), their first duals in nine days.
 
The Warhawk women (14-4) fell to the 22nd ranked Kenyon in the morning match, before defeating Hope 7-0 in the afternoon contest.
 
Against Kenyon (13-0), seniors Bridgid McGuire (Slinger/Slinger) and Jillian Wallace (Crystal Lake, IL/Central) claimed a point in an 8-5 battle in the first slot, but the Warhawks dropped the second and third matches in doubles to head into singles down 2-1.   The Warhawks took the third and fourth matches to start singles.  McGuire claimed the third slot in straight sets, while Wallace fell in the first set before climbing back to win 3-6, 6-4, 10-6.  Junior Gabi Kitchell (Wausau, Wis./D.C. Everest) responded to a Kenyon point in the second match by scoring a point of her own in the first slot 6-4, 6-4.  Kenyon battled back in the sixth slot to tie the match at 4-4, and claimed the final match for the one-point victory.
 
Against Hope (5-8), the Warhawk women swept all three doubles matches.  Senior Alexandra Talyansky (Mequon/Homestead) and Kitchell claimed the second slot in a close 9-8 (9-7) affair over Amanda Bandrowski and Bailey Chorney.  Heading into singles, Kitchell once again took the first slot in straight sets, while Wallace put together a similar performance in the fourth match.  Talyanksy and McGuire found themselves with their hands full in the second and third matches respectively, with the former scoring a point in a 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3) battle and the latter claiming the third slot in a 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) affair.  The match was called shortly after, though freshmen Paige Nierman (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson) and Sabrina Palavra (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) both led in the fifth and sixth positions, respectively, at the time.
 
The Warhawk women will be back in action Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. for the ITA Midwest Invitational fifth place match.  They will be playing at Nielson Tennis Stadium against DePauw (Ind.) in their second meeting of the season.  The Warhawk women defeated DePauw 5-4 in their first meeting of the season at the end of their spring break trip in Hilton Head Island, S.C.