Hilton Head Island, S.C. - Idle since their spring break opening match on Monday, the Illinois Tech women's tennis team had double duty on Thursday, as they had a morning match with Stevenson University followed by an afternoon match with the College of Saint Mary. The Scarlet Hawks were able to earn a split on the day, as they defeated the Mustangs 4-3 in the morning before falling to the Flames 5-2 in a rain-delayed afternoon match. The Scarlet Hawks moved to 5-8 overall on the season.

In both matches, each team only played with five players, and the doubles matches counted as single points per match, as opposed to awarding one point for the combined doubles team winner. As such, the number three doubles matches and the number six singles matches were neutral results in each match.

Illinois Tech 4 - Stevenson 3 

• Doubles Play: Stevenson won both doubles matches to jump out to a 2-0 match lead. Shelby Carter and Ariella Stepleman defeated the Scarlet Hawks' Hannah Markiewicz and Martyna Kalinowska in the number one double match 7-6 (7-3), while the Mustangs Kara Chwang and Bethany Luckett defeated the Hawks' Paige Geiger and Angelica Conwell 6-4. 
• Singles Play: The Scarlet Hawks turned the tables on the Mustangs, taking four of the five singles matches to earn the 4-3 overall match victory. Kalinowska defeated Carter 6-0, 6-2 in the number one singles match. Markiewicz won the number two singles match 4-3 when her opponent, Stepleman, had to retire due to injury. Geiger battled in her number three singles match, going to a third set tie-breaker before eventually falling to the Mustang's Kara Chwang, 2-6, 7-5, 0-1 (3-10). The Scarlet Hawks Ashley Dame won her number four singles match in straight sets over Luckett, 6-0, 6-0. Conwell closed out singles play, also winning in straight sets 6-0, 6-0 against Georgia Ngang.

College of Saint Mary 5 - Illinois Tech 2

• Doubles Play: The Scarlet Hawks and the Flames split their doubles matches, with the Hawks number one team of Kalinowska and Markiewicz winning the number one doubles match against the Flames' Iyaanah Pardiwalla and Yana Gupta, 6-3. The Flames number two pairing of  Carolyna Truong and Miranda Swanson defeated Geiger and Conwell 6-3. The teams were tied 1-1 heading into singles play.
• Singles Play: Ashley Dame won the lone singles match for the Scarlet Hawks, taking the number four singles match 6-2, 6-3 over Swanson. For Dame, it was her second consecutive singles victory after having her seven-match winning streak snapped in Monday's loss to DePauw. Dame is now 10-3 in singles play on the season. Kalinowska lost 1-6, 1-6 to Pardiwalla in the number one singles match. Markiewcz lost a hard-fought number two singles match against the Flames' Gupta 0-6, 7-6, 0-1 (1-7) in a third set tie-breaker. Geiger lost 1-6, 2-6 to Truong in the number three singles match. Conwell had an extended run in her number five singles match, taking her opponent Darece Van Auken to three sets before eventually falling 6-4, 3-6, 0-1 (6-10).

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will have one more tuneup before they start play in the conference championships tournament at the end of April. The Hawks have a non-conference match with Carthage College scheduled on Sunday, April 6th at 3:00 PM.