In a re-match against the Eagles of Bridgewater College (BC), the Sweet Briar Vixens made their presence known at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament at Washington & Lee University.  The Vixens, seeded third, were matched up against the sixth-seeded Eagles.  The two teams had just played their final conference match against each other last week with the result favoring BC, but beating the Eagles 6-3 today restored the Vixen's fire.

The Vixens took a 2-1 lead from the doubles, winning at courts one and three after all courts were intensely battling for each point.

Singles play kept both sides in suspense as each match had many hard fought points with relatively even point distributions. Moriah Burke ('13/Rockville, Md.) was the first Sweet Briar player to walk off with her singles point at the second court position, making the match score 3-1, for SBC. 

Virginia Edahl ('10/Charlotte, N.C.) followed off the court with her win in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Clouds began making it much darker than the original overcast start and the remaining singles courts three through six moved to the indoor courts on campus.  Match score now 4-1 for the Vixens, but battles were still being fought.

Junior Ebie Baker (Farmville, Va.) dropped the first set outside with a score of 5-7.  Her opponent kept the momentum and got the second set indoors, 6-3.  Match score now 4-2 for Sweet Briar.

First-year player Glory Bowman (Roanoke, Va.) played with driving groundstrokes and aggressive play on her court, with a similar scenario to Baker's.  First set went to her BC opponent in a set tie-breaker 6-7 (3). Bowman continued indoors with laser serves and powerful groundstrokes from the baseline to take it to another set tie-breaker.  Bridgewater won, 7-6 (4).  Match score now SBC 4, BC 3.

Krista Maldonado ('12/Ennis, Texas) had also split sets outdoors. Krista had won the first set 7-5, then her BC opponent rallied back for the second set going her way, 6-2.  The third set went indoors and at the same time, Vixen teammate Julia Green ('13/Vancouver, Wash.) was in her third set on the sixth singles court.  The Vixens needed just one more set to take the match, but were definitely in a fight for that point.  The two battled on opposite ends of the indoor center, not really knowing that the match outcome was riding on their match, at least one of them.

Green won her first set 6-1, lost the second 3-6.  As play continued indoors, both Vixen players really got into their game.  Green clinched the win at six with her 6-1 third set victory, using steady groundstrokes and consistent serving to earn her team the match point. With the match score now 5-3, Maldonado secured her point with a 6-4 third set victory.

Play will continue for the Vixen team as they meet up against second seeded conference rival Hollins University at 1:00pm on Sunday.  Click this link for more information on the Women's ODAC tournament.

Sweet Briar College 6, Bridgewater College 3

Singles competition

1. Virginia Edahl (SBCTN10) def. Megan Mathias (BC) 6-4, 6-4
2. Moriah Burke (SBCTN10) def. Olivia Stone (BC) 6-1, 6-0
3. Krista Maldonado (SBCTN10) def. Alissa Michael (BC) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
4. Morgan McGhee (BC) def. Glory Bowman (SBCTN10) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Ally McConaughy (BC) def. Ebie Baker (SBCTN10) 7-5, 6-3
6. Julia Green (SBCTN10) def. Amanda Garby (BC) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Virginia Edahl/Moriah Burke (SBCTN10) def. Megan Mathias/Alissa Michael (BC) 8-6
2. Morgan McGhee/Olivia Stone (BC) def. Julia Green/Sarah Manter (SBCTN10) 8-5
3. Krista Maldonado/Ann Roach (SBCTN10) def. Ally McConaughy/Emily Schweitzer (BC) 8-6
Match Notes:

Bridgewater College 9-10
Sweet Briar College 14-5
ODAC Tournament - Match 4