Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

MADISON, Wis. (Apr. 22, 2022) – Being forced to play from behind early did not faze the Loras College women's tennis team on Friday as the Duhawks (10-6, 5-3 A-R-C) rallied back to mount a 5-4 victory against Edgewood College (10-6) in a non-conference road bout ahead of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Automatic Qualifier Tournament in less than one week.

The Eagles took the lead with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles but Dorothy Deans and Sara Backus denied Edgewood the sweep, taking the No. 3 match against Callie Belschner and Jewel Lindwall, 8-4. Edgewood pulled ahead 3-1 with a win at No. 1 singles but Clair Moore battled against Lindwall to come away with a 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 win at No. 2 before Leia Papanicholas tied the score 3-3 with a 6-4, 6-4 win at the No. 4 position against Madelyn Connaughty. The Eagles took their final lead of the match with a win at No. 3 but excellent play by Deans and Alex Oestreich at the No. 5 and 6 positions put the Duhawks ahead, 5-4. Deans tied it 4-4 with her 6-1, 6-2 win against Belschner at No. 5 and Oestreich locked up the win with a 7-6, 6-1 victory at No. 6 singles against Maggie Burgmeier.

Loras now shifts focus to the conference tournament and chasing the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national championship, hosting the quarterfinal matchup against Simpson College on Tuesday, Apr. 26. The Duhawks defeated the Storm 6-3 in the regular season and look to do so again to survive and advance. Match play begins at 4:00 P.M. at the Tucker Tennis Courts.