Asbury (Ky.) falls in NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship first round`
Asbury (Ky.) falls in NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship first round`
By Asbury Sports Information (AsburyEagles.com)
MOBILE, Ala. - Asbury (Ky.) University women's tennis secured its second-straight River States Conference Tournament championship last month and as a result garnered a spot in the NAIA Women's Tennis National Championship this week hosted by the Mobile Tennis Club in Mobile, Alabama. The Eagles drew a 23-seed for the tournament and faced off against Indiana Wesleyan on Tuesday afternoon.
The Eagles dropped the contest 9-0 to the Wildcats, effectively ending a great run for the Eagles that included season sweeps of the River States Conference teams and of the year-end awards that included another conference Player of the Year award for Caitlin Conyers and Newcomer of the Year award for Alejandra Diaz Mares.
Indiana Wesleyan, seeded 10th for the tournament, came into the contest with a record of 35-8 on the season and with a ranking of 10th in the NAIA National Poll.
Asbury found it tough all day to match up with the Wildcats, but didn't go without putting up a fight. Most notably, Diaz Mares grabbed two game wins in her second-singles match in both sets of her matchup. Caitlin Conyers drew 19th-ranked individual Rachel Bottorff, and Sarah Beth Alford got 44th-ranked Elizabeth Bauss. Both players dropped their matches to the nationally ranked individuals.
The Eagles' season ends at 12-5 on the year, and they were "receiving votes" in the NAIA Women's Tennis Top 25 Poll.