The Sweet Briar tennis team had some small victories on the courts today at Hollins University, but it was not enough to walk away with the overall team win.

With first-year player Krista Maldonado and sophomore Ebie Baker both out of today's match with injuries, the Vixen squad mixed and matched their doubles teams to increase their effectiveness for the doubles points that start the match.  Not only were tthe players dealing with their rival opponents, but both teams battled against some unpredictable wind and brief sprinkles throughout the match that made competition even more challenging.

Virginia Edahl, '10Junior Leslie Polaski (Amherst, Va.) and first-year player Ellen Reid (Germanton, N.C.) have played strong together for most of the spring season.  The two stayed together and worked well as a team utilizing strong serves, offensive positioning,  and quick net play against a seasoned Hollins team.  The Vixen duo stayed competitive throughout the match, but Hollins came out with the win at first doubles, 8-6.

At second doubles, senior Stephanie Nance (Moneta, Va.) and Virginia Edahl ('10/Charlotte, N.C.) were put together and had an effective set-up and put-away tactic to keep the Hollins team off balance.  Nance-Edahl took second doubles with a score of 8-4.

Jessica Draper ('11/Farmville, Va.) and first-year Willis Blair (Richmond, Va.) teamed up to take third doubles with consistent serves great teamwork to win the set 8-3.  Sweet Briar had the lead 2-1 going into singles play.

Draper easily handled her opponent on court five singles walking away with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.  The match score at this point is 3-1 Sweet Briar.

Courts one, two, and three singles finished within minutes of each other.  The outcome on all three favored Hollins.

First court player Virginia Edahl went up against the steady play of Hollins' Maggie Bai.  The wind hindered service effectiveness for both players, favoring whoever could be consistent to get it into the service box without precision.  The points were similar in execution between cross-court drives and attempts at getting each other off balance, but the match favored Bai who made some key drives into some narrow targets.  Set scores were 6-3, 6-3.

Stephanie Nance fought tough to hang onto court two, but Hollins prevailed winning 6-2, 6-4.

Leslie Polaski had a rough go of it on court three.  Both players were definitely dealing with a bit more of the wind on their end court making it difficult to get into any rhythm.  The win went to Hollins, 6-0, 6-1.

With two courts, four and six singles still in play, the match is close but Hollins now leads 4-3.

Ellen Reid rallied steady for most of the match.  The elements and an effective opponent got the upper hand and Hollins wins at court four singles that clinched the match at 5 points.

The remaining court six was to be a personal victory for Willis Blair, who gets her first singles and doubles victory against an ODAC rival.  Blair splits sets, 4-6, 6-2 and takes the match tie-breaker with a score of 10 points to 5 for her win on six singles. 

Senior Rachel Sullivan was also victorious in her match by a score of 6-1, 6-1.

The Vixens will host Lynchburg College on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.