Strong doubles play lifts Storm over Dubuque, Loras

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Strong doubles play got the Simpson women's tennis team off to a strong start in each of its matches Saturday, helping topple a pair of conference foes on the road.

The Storm (3-3, 3-2 Iowa Conference) started off the day with a 9-0 blanking of Loras before closing with an 8-1 win over Dubuque. Simpson swept the doubles competition in each match, a point of emphasis for head coach Lindsay Chase during the week.

"Overall, I was pleased with how the team played on Saturday," Chase said. "We were able to get two solid conference wins which helps our odds in making the conference tournament. We focused a lot of time and energy into doubles play last week in practice and it showed in the way we played our matches on Saturday."

Against Loras, the team of Tiffany Bost and Allison Anderson got things started with an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles over Ale Ruales and Rachel Weglarz. Lauren Schemmel and Mikayla Struebing continued the trend with an 8-4 win at No. 2 and Lindsay Nash and Lynae Gruber combined for an 8-2 win at No. 3.

Simpson's singles lineup won in straight sets over their Duhawk counterparts. Struebing beat Ale Ruales at No. 1 (6-2, 7-5), Bost topped Carley Villano at No. 2 (6-1, 6-3), Anderson took care of Sarah Alt at No. 3 (6-2, 6-1), Nash beat Rachel Weglarz 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4, Gruber bested Caroline Rainey at No. 5 (6-3, 6-0) and Whitney Thompson rounded it out with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Est Mungai.

It was more of the same against Dubuque.

The team of Bost and Anderson beat Nichole Schmaltz and Ashley Schlueter 8-5 at No. 1 doubles, Struebing and Schemmel cruised past Lauren Clausen and Heather Watson 8-3 at No. 2 and the Nash/Gruber combination won a tight one over Stephanie LoCast and Spenser Smith, 8-6.

In singles, Struebing recovered from a setback in the first set to beat Schmaltz 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 at the top spot. Anderson beat LoCasto 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3, Nash beat Clausen 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4, Gruber beat Smith 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5 and Thompson chipped in with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Janine Wegner at No. 6. Bost suffered Simpson's only loss, a 6-1, 6-0 defeat against Schlueter at No. 2.

Simpson is off until Saturday, Sept. 17 when it hosts Grand View at 9 a.m. and Wartburg at 2 p.m. from Buxton Memorial Tennis Complex.