BRYN MAWR, Pa. - The Bryn Mawr tennis team returned to their home court earlier Tuesday afternoon for their spring home opener. After beginning this year's campaign on the road in Florida, the Owls were excited to get back on the friendly confines of their home court, and that definitely showed. Bryn Mawr controlled play the whole afternoon, cruising to a solid 8-1 victory over Goucher in the non-conference affair.
Bryn Mawr (3-3) set the pace for the day with a great start in doubles. Kendall Baller and Tirsa Delate got the Owls rolling with a quick 8-3 victory at second doubles, which was followed closely by another 8-3 win at third doubles for Mariam Haider and Em Prozinski. At first doubles, Melina Koukoutchos and Lizzie Siegle found themselves in a bit of a hole early on, but the veteran pairing dug deep and battled back to win 8-6 and give the Owls a 3-0 lead heading into singles.
The Owls continued to build of their fast start with a few more quick wins in the individual matches as well. Kendall Baller's positive momentum kept rolling, as she looked good from start to finish in a 6-1, 6-1 win at third singles. The same can be said of Siegle, who finished nearly simultaneously with Baller in a 6-3, 6-1 win at the second spot. Just a few minutes later, it was Mariam Haider who clinched the match for Bryn Mawr with another sharp 6-0, 6-3 win in the fifth position.
With the match in hand, Bryn Mawr continued playing hard and looked to sweep the day. Em Prozinski was next to close out her contest. Goucher's Olivia Nono put on a good fight, but Prozinski ultimately closed out the match in 6-2, 6-4 fashion. The Gophers (3-5) finally turned the tables and picked up their first win of the day at fourth singles. Tirsa Delate put in a very strong effort, but Goucher's Miranda Egan-Brooks used her athleticism to get to seemingly every single shot as she ultimately took home a 6-4, 6-1 win in the contest.
That left the top singles match undecided, and it was arguably one of the most entertaining matches of the day. Koukoutchos came from behind once again to take the first set in 7-5 fashion. However, Kirsten Cianci battled back in the second frame for the Gophers, forcing a tiebreak with a 6-2 win in the set. Cianci got the upper hand early on in the tiebreak, but Koukoutchos showed her ferocity one last time by digging deep and rattling off several consecutive points in the frame. That allowed the senior captain to pull out the win on one last long rally in 10-5 fashion in the tiebreaker.
Bryn Mawr will look to keep these positive vibes rolling into the weekend as they get set for their next match. The Owls will close out this brief homestand with their first Centennial Conference contest of the season as they host Gettysburg on Saturday. The Bullets have suffered a bit of a slow start to their spring, but picked up a win against Nazareth to close out their spring break trip on a positive note. Last year, Gettysburg protected home court with a 6-3 win over Bryn Mawr. The Owls will try to return the favor on Saturday, with the match slated to start at 1:00 PM.
