COCOA BEACH, Fla. – The Sweet Briar College tennis team (0-4, 0-1 ODAC) concluded its spring break action in Florida with a hard-fought 6–1 setback against the St. Catherine University Wildcats (8-3, 1-1 MIAC) on Thursday afternoon.

The Vixens battled through multiple tight singles contests and several competitive doubles courts despite the final margin.

In doubles, Sweet Briar pushed St. Catherine on courts two and three, with senior Atty Bestwick (Durham, N.C.) and sophomore Ari Venturi (Richmond, Va.) falling 6–4 at the second spot and junior Maggie Minton (Wytheville, Va.) and sophomore Gianna Guadagno (Huntington Beach, Calif.) dropping a 6–1 decision at line three after early back-and-forth games. At the top spot, the Vixens' duo of seniors Lucia Bovard (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) and Alex Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) came up short, 6–2.

Minton provided the highlight of the day for Sweet Briar at No. 3 singles, where she rallied to earn the Vixens' lone point in a three-set victory. After taking the opening set 6–0, she regrouped following a second-set loss and closed out a 6–0, 2–6, 1-0 (10–6) win in the match tiebreak.

At the top of the lineup, Guilarte went the distance in a narrow three-set defeat on court one, taking the first set 6–2 before ultimately falling 2–6, 0-1 (9-10) in the deciding tiebreak. Bovard nearly added another point at No. 2 singles, capturing the first set 6–2 and pushing the second to a tight 7–5 score before dropping the super tiebreak 8–10 in another marathon match.

Further down the order, Bestwick extended her opponent to three sets at No. 4 singles, winning the opening set 7–5 and forcing a deciding tiebreak before falling 6–10. Venturi battled to a 6–3 second set at No. 5, while senior Megan Vess (Goodview, Va.) continued to gain experience at No. 6 singles, competing through a straight-sets result.

Highlights

• This marks Minton's first win against the Wildcats following a previous meeting last year.
• Bestwick/Venturi and Guadagno/Minton saw action as doubles pairings for the first time this season.

What's Next
The Vixens will return to ODAC play with a match at Hollins on March 19th.

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