ORLANDO, Fla. - The Birmingham-Southern women's tennis team completed their first match in Orlando at the USTA National Tennis Center on Friday morning with a defeat to a tough Spring Arbor program.

The Cougars got off to a great start with a doubles sweep to earn the first point on the day. Spring Arbor then carried their momentum over to the singles matches, but the Panthers had performances to be proud of.

No. 1 Blakely Valdez won the first set against her opponent, 6-3 but lost set two, 6-4. The tiebreaker set was an exciting one, but Valdez ultimately only won seven games to her opponent's 10. The No. 4 and No. 5 singles matches were also tight with Anna Beth Giles and Anna Cate Weeks respectively playing in those positions for the Panthers. Giles fell in the first set, 6-2 but forced a tiebreaker in set two despite a 7-5 loss. Weeks played close with her opponent throughout the entirety of the match with a narrow 7-5, 6-4 defeat.
 
Final: Spring Arbor 7, Birmingham-Southern 0

Singles competition
1. Moorea McNalley (SAU) def. Blakely Valdez (BSC) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
2. Victoria Herrington (SAU) def. Phoebe Shapard (BSC) 6-2, 6-0
3. Makenzi Sells (SAU) def. Anna Marie Bentley (BSC) 6-1, 6-3
4. Olivia Creech (SAU) def. Anna Beth Giles (BSC) 6-2, 7-5
5. Isabel Abraham (SAU) def. Anna Cate Weeks (BSC) 7-5, 6-4
6. Andrea Vandermark (SAU) def. Meg Griffin (BSC) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Rebekah Pake/Moorea McNalley (SAU) def. Phoebe Shapard/Anna Marie Bentley (BSC) 6-0
2. Makenzi Sells/Victoria Herrington (SAU) def. Blakely Valdez/Abbie Bateh (BSC) 6-0
3. Isabel Abraham/Olivia Creech (SAU) def. Anna Beth Giles/Anna Cate Weeks (BSC) 6-2

Records
Birmingham-Southern 2-3 Overall, Spring Arbor 16-5 Overall

Up next
The Panthers will play their second match in Orlando on Sunday, Mar. 10 against #25 Denison at 2:00 p.m. EST.