Women's Tennis | 4/13/2014 2:14:00 PM
North Newton, Kan. – The McPherson College Lady Bulldogs traveled to North Newton to take on the defending KCAC Champions Bethel College Saturday morning; the day went in favor of the Bulldogs as McPherson handed the Lady Threshers their first conference loss in 40+ matches. Later that afternoon MC traveled to Hesston College and defeated the Larks 9-0 to go a perfect 2-0 on the day.
The Bethel Threshers struck first in doubles, taking advantage of a slow start at the number three doubles pair of Chandler Short (Edgewood, Texas) and Kara Wright (Wichita, Kan.); Bethel took that match 8-4 to score the first point against the Bulldogs. Mac rallied quickly however to take the next two doubles matches with the number one duo of Brooke and Nikki Vorhess scoring an 8-3 win, while junior teammates Emma Sheehan (Fullerton, Calif.) and Brittany Gourlay (Riverside, Calif.) recorded an 8-4 victory to give Mac a 2-1 lead going into singles.
In singles play, sophomore Nikki Vorhess (Riverside, Calif.) struck first for the 'Dogs as she dispatched her opponent 6-0, 6-4; Vorhees cruised in the first set but had to rally from behind in the second set to score the impressive victory for McPherson. Sheehan, MC's top 'Dog, had her hands full with 2013 KCAC Player of the Year Bre Honer. Honer came out of the gates tough and took a 4-0 lead before Sheehan began to mount her comeback. Sheehan won the next six games to take the first set 6-4. In the second set, Sheehan found herself down again to Honer and had to dig deep to complete the come back to win her match 6-4, 6-3, giving McPherson a 4-1 lead. Junior Brooke Vorhess (Riverside, Calif.) mimicked her sister, also cruising in the first set then having to stave off a fierce Thresher comeback to win her match 6-1, 7-5 which clinched the victory for the Bulldogs. With the score 5-1 McPherson took two of the last three matches with Claire Crossman (Orange, Calif.) and Gourlay winning 6-2, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-1, respectively.
"I was really proud of how we played in this match," said Coach Benito. "The girls knew what they had to do and stayed focused and intense to accomplish this huge task. Even with the wind being a little bit of a factor I think we executed well in the victory."
Against Hesston College later that day the Bulldogs carried over their steady play and executed to sweep the Larks 9-0. Seniors Wright and Ashley Allmon (McPherson, Kan.), along with B. Vorhees and sophomore Short went perfect on the day winning both of their singles and doubles matches.
"It's always tough to play a second match especially after playing an emotional and physical match in the morning," said Benito. "I was quite impressed with the demeanor of our players to carry on and take care of business."
Up next for MC is Kansas Wesleyan University on Monday, April 14 in Salina at Oakdale Park; first serve is set for 3:00 p.m. (CT)
Final Scores:
McPherson College 7, Bethel College 2
Doubles:
1) B. Vorhees/N. Vorhees (Mac) def. Honer/S. Shogren (BC) 8-3
2) Sheehan/Gourlay (Mac) def. Hipp/Weaver (BC) 8-4
3) Rachel Shogren/Scheverman (BC) def. Chandler Short/Wright (Mac) 8-4
Singles:
1) Emma Sheehan (Mac) def. Bree Honer (BC) 6-4, 6-3
2) Nikki Vorhees (Mac) def. Steph Shogren (BC) 6-0, 6-4
3) Brooke Vorhees (Mac) def. Allie Hipp (BC) 6-1, 7-5
4) Brittany Gourlay (Mac) def. Madelyn Weaver (BC) 6-2, 6-1
5) Claire Crossman (Mac) def. Ashley Suhr (BC) 6-2, 6-2
6) Alyssa Scheverman (BC) def. Kara Wright (Mac) 6-1, 6-4
McPherson College 9, Hesston College 0
Doubles:
1) B. Vorhees/Brittany Gourlay (Mac) def. S. Mitchell/Fair (HC) 8-3
2) N. Vorhees/Allmon (Mac) def. Wilder/Hayano (HC) 8-2
3) Wright/Short (Mac) def. Krupf/Martin (HC) 8-0
Singles:
1) Emma Sheehan (Mac) def. Sam Aeschilman (HC) 6-2, 6-2
2) Brooke Vorhees (Mac) def. Brett Fair (HC) 6-0, 6-2
3) Claire Crossman (Mac) def. Elizabeth Wilder (HC) 6-4, 6-0
4) Kara Wright (Mac) def. Savannah Mitchell (HC) 6-1, 6-1
5) Ashley Allmon (Mac) def. Narami Hayand (HC) 3-6, 6-3, 10-2
6) Chandler Short (Mac) def. Victoria Krupf (HC) 6-0, 6-1
