DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's tennis team split its pair of home matches against Central College and Simpson College on Saturday.
 
Central 5, Loras 2

The Duhawks earned two doubles wins, with the first one coming in the No. 1 spot where Mary Breitbach and Dorothy Deans defeated Lauren Gano and Emma Murphy, 6-2. In the No. 2 spot, Ellie Kalina and Leia Papanicholas defeated Jenna Mitsuko Mahoney and Becca Vala 7-6 to secure the point from doubles play. 
 
The Duhawks tried to battle back in singles, but fell short to the Dutch as they were only able to grab one singles win. Breitbach defeated Madi Whalen at the No. 1 spot 6-1 and 6-0.
 
Loras 7, Simpson 0

Later in the day, the Duhawks faced off against Simpson, where they silenced the Storm with a 7-0 victory. Loras was able to start off strong sweeping the doubles point, which started with Breitbach and Deans taking down Bella Tranquilino and Grace Peck 6-2 at the No. 1 spot. Papanicholas and Kalina defeated Coilee Hynek and Savana Walls 7-6 at the No. 2 spot, while Alexis Tatum and Lauren Keiper earned their first doubles victory of the day at the No. 3 spot with a 6-1 win over Maggie Hall and Anna Schewe. 

Loras confidently headed into singles action. Breitbach defeated Tranquilino at the No.1 spot by scores of 6-0 for both matches. Deans followed suit and took down Peck at the No.2 spot 6-0 and 6-1. Papanicholas kept the Duhawks rolling with a 6-1 opponent retirement win over Hynek at the No. 3 spot, while Kalina defeated Hall 6-2 and 6-3 at the No.4 spot. Clinching the victory for Loras in the No.5 and No.6 spots was Tatum who defeated Schewe 6-1 and 6-4 and Keiper who shut down Hannah Roth 6-0 in both sets.
 
UP NEXT: The Purple and Gold will stay home as they welcome Coe College to Tucker Tennis Courts for an A-R-C matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 2. The first serve is set for 4 p.m.