Simpson sweeps season opener

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Neither the heat nor the competition could hold the Simpson women's tennis team back as it opened the2015 with wins over Monmouth (ill.) and Knox College on Saturday.

The Storm (2-0) opened with a 6-3 win over the Knox Prairie Fire (0-2) in head coach Jennifer Gruenisen's first win at the helm for the Storm. Simpson then dispatched of the Monmouth Scots (0-2) 7-2 in the second half of the day's action.

It was the second consecutive season Simpson upended Knox from a balanced effort in both singles and doubles play. Kelli Ehrhardt, Cassidy Bierbrodt, Liz Nimmo and Sidney Griffith all won in straight sets in singles play. Bierbrodt dug deep to win 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in a tiebreaker, as did Griffith, winning 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Michelle Hartmann and Kelli Greiner were the lone losers in singles play, coming in the second and third spots respectively.

Hartmann rebounded with Bierbrodt to win 8-4 in doubles, as did Greiner who won 8-2 with Ehrhardt as Simpson went 2-1 in doubles.

The Storm swept Monmouth in doubles play before clinching the win with another 4-2 performance in singles.

Ehrhardt and Greiner stayed 2-0 as a duo with a hard-fought 9-8 win to open doubles competition.

Hartmann and Bierbrodt would then win 8-4 before Megan Bradley and Griffith completed the sweep with an 8-6 win.

Kelli Ehrhardt had to work hard for a 4-6, 6-2, 10-4 win over Katherine Hinman in the number one slot. Hartmann rebounded with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the number two spot as did Greiner who won 6-1, 7-5 to even up her day in singles play. Nimmo took down Morgan Holle 6-1, 6-4 in the tailgunner role at No. 6.

Simpson will have a week off before traveling to Dubuque for a double-dip against Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foes Loras College and Dubuque University on Saturday, Sept. 12. First serve is set for 9 a.m. against the Duhawks.