DE PERE, Wis. (Feb. 20, 2023) – There sure weren't any signs of the rust for the Loras College women's tennis team on Saturday as the Duhawks easily took care of the St. Norbert College and the University of Wisconsin-Stout to start their spring schedule.

The Duhawks (10-5) dropped a total of just one singles set in their matches with the Green Knights and Blue Devils to cruise their way past to start the second half of their season with two 9-0 victories.

Against St. Norbert on Sunday afternoon, seniors Isabel Schwabe and Lauren Diiulio got a test at No. 1 doubles as they were pushed to the brink in an 8-7 (7-4) victory. The Duhawks led 3-0 after doubles thanks to 8-5 and 8-3 wins from the other two Duhawk pairings.

Senior Sara Backus rallied to secure herself a two-set sweep at No. 3 singles after she and SNC's Megan Pankow went down to the wire in set one. Backus prevailed 7-6 (7-2), then dominated the second set 6-1 to secure her win. All six Duhawks swept their singles matches, highlighted by a 6-2, 6-0 result for sophomore Dorothy Deans at sixes, marking the only 6-0 set for the match.

Later that night against UW-Stout, the Duhawks picked up right where they left on and cruised to another 9-0 win. Schwabe and Diiulio again played the closest match in No. 1 doubles, but never faced any real adversity as they prevailed 8-5.

In singles, four matches went off without much of a hitch, but Nos. 3 and 5 provided a little more competition. At threes, Backus staved off a potential three-setter as she beat Ashlyn Dellemann 6-4, 7-6 in a good matchup.

At fives, sophomore Caroline Hutchinson dropped the first set to Stout's Lexie Stein 6-4 to mark the only lost set for Loras on the weekend. Hutchinson responded in a big way and dominated set two 6-0 before taking the deciding third set 10-4 to keep the perfect Duhawk record in-tact for the weekend.

The Duhawks have another two-match weekend ahead on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-25 when they head to Winona, Minn. Loras will face Saint Mary's University (Minn.) on Friday at 6 P.M. before seeing Bethany Lutheran College on Saturday at 12:30 P.M.