By Josh Sinclair

April 13, 2016

Clinching its ninth straight 20-win season, the No. 26-ranked UW-Whitewater women’s tennis team swept Carroll and Carthage Colleges with identical 9-0 scores.

Playing against Carroll (15-6) in New Berlin, junior Rachel Siemon and sophomore Brittany Goebel were first off the court at No. 3 doubles, tallying an 8-1 triumph.

The Warhawks (20-3) finished the doubles sweep as junior Megan Humphreys and sophomore Bridgid McGuire posted an 8-1 victory at No. 1.

Sophomore Alexandra Talyansky and freshman Gabi Kitchell combined for an 8-0 win at No. 2.

“More than the scores, just playing as well as they have in both singles and doubles is what should be confidence builders for the team as they head into such an important stretch of the season,” head coach Frank Barnes said.

Sophomore Alicia Beck gave the Warhawks a 4-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at the fifth position.

Humphreys clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout victory at the No. 1 flight.

Neither Kitchell (No. 2) nor Talyansky (No. 3) dropped a game in straight-set wins. Sophomore Jillian Wallace registered a 6-1, 6-0 triumph at No. 4 singles.

Wallace was reached out for comment but was unable to speak at press time.

Senior Ashley Miller recorded a 6-0, 6-2 victory at the sixth slot and the sweep was complete.

“We were hoping for a sweep of both teams, as I feel we’ve been playing strong tennis at each position, but I did not expect to be as dominating,” Barnes said. “Losing just nine games total in nine matches against Carroll was really impressive.”

Against regionally ranked Carthage (14-7), Humphreys and McGuire highlighted doubles play with an 8-2 triumph at No. 1 against Max Mella and Anjellica Emmanouil, the region’s seventh-ranked pair.

“Not losing a set to a tough, regionally ranked Carthage team really shows how well the team is playing,” Barnes said.

Wallace and Beck combined for a 9-7 triumph at the second slot, and Kitchell and Talyansky teamed up for an 8-3 victory at No. 3.

Kitchell (No. 2), Talyansky (No. 4) and Wallace (No. 5) were first on the board in singles play with straight-set wins.

Humphreys (No. 1) and Beck (No. 6) followed suit with their own straight-set victories.

In the last match of the night, McGuire (No. 3) won in straight sets to complete the sweep of the day.

“McGuire has been playing through some tough injuries,” Barnes said. “Her doubles play has been great all semester, and her singles is really starting to show how tough she is.  She was down 0-3 against Carthage dealing with pain, but she dug deep and only lost three more games total in her 6-4, 6-2 win.”

The Warhawks will play again at 4 p.m. next weekend as they head to St. Louis as Whitewater begins a road trip with ninth-ranked Washington University (Missouri).