Boxscore

Oberlin, Ohio - In a tightly contested match, Cleveland rival, Case Western Reserve University topped the Oberlin College women's tennis team tonight by a 5-4 scoreline.

Ariel Lewis and Carolyn Ball put Oberlin on the board first when they dispatched Case's Kathleen Evers and Bianca Patel 8-4 at the No. 2 doubles spot in a solid performance.

The Spartans earned an 8-3 win in the third doubles spot to even the overall score.  Erika Lim and Alexandra Lim just edged Oberlin's Finley Gates and Grace Porter 8-6 in the top spot.  The Oberllin pairing built a 4-1 lead only to see the the Central Region's 7th ranked duo come from behind to make the match interesting.  A point here or there would have certainly seen the Yeowomen earn an upset.

The Oberlin singles highlight came from Lewis, a senior from Vacaville, Calif., who continues her good form as she dropped the Central Region's 2nd ranked player in straight sets.  Lewis was a 6-3, 6-4 winner in the top spot over Cases' E. Lim earning her 6th win on the season.

"Great win for Ariel tonight defeating one of the region's top players.  Although we fell short we are going to take a lot of positives from this match.  We are playing good tennis against good teams.  Case recently lost 5-4 to the nation's 6th ranked team.  The girls are confident and that will help us as we move forward," said head coach Constantine Ananiadis.

The Yeowomen picked up solid wins in the fifth and sixth singles spots.  Preeya Shah was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Evers and Ball turned in a 6-2, 6-3 effort at No. 6 against Patel.

In the second spot Sheldon had an opportunity to bring Oberlin back into the match, leading 4-1 in the first set, but the Spartans' Bonnano put up a good fight earning a 7-5 win in the first set.  In the second the Case hitter pulled out a 6-2 win to take the match.

"This was a match that could have easily been ours.  We were up at No. 1 doubles against a good team and let it get away.  A couple of points here or there and we likely win another match or two," noted Ananiadis.

Oberlin (5-4) will now take a week's respite before traveling south to take on Divison I University of Dayton on March 10th at 4 p.m.