Women’s tennis drops both ends of Saturday doubleheader

INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson College women's tennis team hosted both Truman State and Coe at Buxton Tennis Complex on Saturday.

The guests prevailed in both matches as Truman State won 7-2 and Coe collected a 9-0 conference victory.

The Bulldogs claimed all five contested singles matches in straight sets and won No. 1 and No. 2 doubles by scores of 8-1 and 8-2, respectively. Due to Truman State's condensed travel roster, the Storm earned wins by default at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles.

"All of our players had great points against Truman," head coach Faith Bliss said. "They are learning and getting better every day. Carina and Kira, two of our newcomers, came out and played hard for us in their first collegiate match.

Against Coe, Simpson came close to securing a few singles points but came up empty in the tiebreakers. Maggie Hall secured a 6-2 win in the first set of her singles match and Donni Kinghorn bounced back to win her second set 7-5.

"We had great matches against very tough opponents," Bliss said. "I'm very happy with Maggie and Donni's matches and wish we could've capitalized the tie breakers, but at this point in the season, it is a great learning moment for both ladies. We have lots of things to be proud of on the court this afternoon."

The Storm have a trio of American Rivers Conference matches on the docket with the first being at Buena Vista on Sept. 9. Simpson will then make its way to Neb. Wesleyan for a match on Sept. 10 before hosting Central on Sept. 16.

Truman State 7, Simpson 2
Singles competition
1. Akansha Negi (TSU) def. Bella Tranquilino (SIMW) 6-1, 6-1
2. Julia Fangman (TSU) def. Donni Kinghorn (SIMW) 6-0, 6-4
3. Kennidy Shirey (TSU) def. Kennedi Wright (SIMW) 6-1, 6-4
4. Sydney Dial (TSU) def. Carina Covington (SIMW) 6-0, 6-0
5. Abbi Worster (TSU) def. Kira Anderson (SIMW) 6-1, 6-0
6. Maggie Hall (SIMW) won by default

Doubles competition
1. Akansha Negi/Julia Fangman (TSU) def. Kennedi Wright/Donni Kinghorn (SIMW) 8-1
2. Abbi Worster/Sydney Dial (TSU) def. Bella Tranquilino/Carina Covington (SIMW) 8-2
3. Kira Anderson/Maggie Hall (SIMW) won by default

Coe 9, Simpson 0
Singles competition
1. Madison Schultz (COE) def. Bella Tranquilino (SIMW) 6-1, 6-2
2. Jania Carter-Johnson (COE) def. Donni Kinghorn (SIMW) 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
3. Emma Lassen (COE) def. Kennedi Wright (SIMW) 6-1, 6-3
4. Claudia Bilkey (COE) def. Carina Covington (SIMW) 6-1, 6-0
5. Maria Bello Escobar (COE) def. Kira Anderson (SIMW) 6-0, 6-0
6. Amy Whitcomb (COE) def. Maggie Hall (SIMW) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (13-11)

Doubles competition
1. Madison Schultz/Jania Carter-Johnson (COE) def. Donni Kinghorn/Kennedi Wright (SIMW) 8-3
2. Emma Lassen/Claudia Bilkey (COE) def. Kira Anderson/Carina Covington (SIMW) 8-3
3. Jade Fuqua/Courtney Carstensen (COE) def. Bella Tranquilino/Maggie Hall (SIMW) 8-6