WINONA, Minn. – The Winona State tennis team opened NSIC play in successful fashion, cruising to pair of victories over Bemidji State (7-2) and Minnesota Crookston (9-0) Saturday at the Winona Tennis Center.
In Saturday's opener against Bemidji State, the Warriors swept doubles play. The No. 1 team of Aimee Basinski and Brianna Havelka claimed an 8-4 victory, while the No. 2 team of Justine Daane and Leah Dahl earned an 8-0 sweep and the No. 3 team of Katie Scruggs and Ellyn Grossen captured an 8-6 victory.
The Warriors' top three singles competitors also had strong performances, as Havelka cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles and Dahl easily earned a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles. Daane mounted an impressive comeback at No. 2 singles, dropping the first set 6-2 before rallying for a 7-5 victory and forcing a 10-5 victory in the decisive third set.
Lauren Willkom also pulled out a win for the Warriors at No. 6 singles, also rallying from a first set loss to claim a 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 win.
The nightcap against Minnesota Crookston was never in doubt, as the Warriors recorded a clean sweep with nobody losing more than three games in any set.
All three doubles teams claimed dominating 8-0 victories, while Dahl and Willkom claimed 6-0, 6-0 victories on the singles side. Havelka recorded a 6-1, 6-2 win, Daane earned a 6-0, 6-3 victory, Scruggs scored a 6-1, 6-0 win and Grossen finished with a 6-0, 6-1 win as the Warriors claimed the 9-0 victory.
Winona State (2-1) returns to action next weekend when it hosts Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. Saturday and Minnesota State at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Winona Tennis Center.