The Yeowomen opened the day against Otterbein and dominated from the start. All three doubles pairings won by a score of 8–1. In the top slot, junior Ariel Lewis and sophomore Farah Leclercq teamed up to beat the Cardinals’ Julie Stroyne and Brook Trine.

A sophomore transfer from Florida Gulf Coast University, Leclercq has had an immediate impact on the program. She finished the fall season as the 15th-ranked player in the Central Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Together, the combination of Lewis and Leclercq form one of, if not the, best doubles pairings in the conference.

“Both [Leclercq and Lewis] are easily two of the top players in the region, and really the nation,” said Head Coach Constantine Ananiadis.

In the second doubles slot, College junior Finley Gates and College first-year Brenna Sheldon defeated the Cardinals’ Taylor Jordan and Kylie Hammonds. The third doubles pairing of College sophomore Preeya Shah and College junior Brie White-Duzuro combined to top Andrea Bennet and Christine Kuester.

The Yeowomen were similarly successful in singles play. None of them so much as lost a set. Leclercq took the top match against Stroyne 6–3, 6–3, and Lewis secured a victory with a 6–0, 6–2 win over Jordan. Gates, Shah, Sheldon and junior Carolyn Ball added wins of their own to finish up an impressive showing.

The Yeowomen were just as good against Tiffin, losing only their first match, when Lewis and Leclercq dropped a difficult set by a score of 8–5 . From then on it was nothing but wins, as the Yeowomen reeled off eight straight victories to seal the match.

Sheldon and Ball turned in a solid 8–3 win as the second doubles pair, and in the third slot Shah and White-Dzuro were also victorious. In singles play, the Yeowomen once again managed to win six games without dropping a set.

A few of the Yeowomen turned in particularly impressive performances. Gates went 3–0 to notch her seventh win and remain undefeated for the spring season. Sheldon, who was hampered by a lower back injury last semester, also won three times, including her first singles match this spring.

“I was so happy to be able to play last weekend, even though I don’t have 100 percent mobility yet,” she said. “It was the most I’ve played since last summer, and nothing hurt!”

For his part, Coach Ananiadis was pleased with his team’s performance, and even more pleased to see some of his players return from injury.

“The wins last Saturday were nice, but it was even nicer to have some key players back in the lineup and somewhat healthy,” he said.

Despite the Yeowomen’s impressive performance, he says it’s too early in the season to tell how good they are.

“After this coming weekend, when we face two regionally-ranked teams, we’ll be able to have a better idea of where we’re at,” he said.

The Yeowomen will be on the road this weekend at DePauw University. They play Luther College on this upcoming Saturday and DePauw on Sunday.