ORLANDO, Fla.  -  SIUE tennis closed out its Spring Break trip to Orlando by returning to its winning ways, as the Cougars notched a 4-3 win over Radford in the morning before finishing the day with a convincing 5-1 victory over Sacred Heart.

Match 1 - SIUE 4, Radford 3
The Cougars started their match with another strong doubles performance, kicked off with a 6-1 win from the team of Jordan Schifano and Vanessa Reinicke. The doubles point was clinched soon after, as the No. 1 doubles pair of Jill Lambrechts and Maria Thibault earned a 6-1 win over their Highlander opponents.

Singles play began with a quick win on the No. 6 court, as Amber Hochstatter notched a 7-5 opening set win before eventually winning by opponent retirement. Lambrechts earned a commanding 6-0, 6-1 win in the No. 2 position to put the Cougars within striking distance of clinching the match victory. Radford would not go away quietly, winning on the No. 1 and No. 3 court to close the SIUE advantage to just one point. However, the Red & White were resilient, as Fabiola Perez earned a thrilling 6-4, 7-5 win to earn the victory.

Match 2 - SIUE 5, Sacred Heart 1
SIUE closed out the day with a rare evening fixture, as the Cougars faced off against the Sacred Heart University Pioneers. SIUE again commanded their competition in doubles play, as the team of Lambrechts and Thibault shut out their Pioneer opponents on the No. 1 court. The action on the second and third doubles courts was more tightly-contested, as both matches were forced into tie-breakers; however, SIUE earned a 7-6 (7-5) win on the No. 2 court and a 7-6 (7-0) win on the No. 3 court to sweep all three doubles fixtures and secure the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

The Cougars started off strong in singles action, kicked off by a straight-set win for Reinicke on the No. 3 court. Lambrechts notched her second win of the day with a 6-4, 6-0 win from the No. 2 position, extending her winning streak to 10 and improving to 15-2 in overall singles play and 10-1 in singles match play this season. SIUE claimed the victory on the No. 1 court, as Schifano earned a 10-6 tie-breaker set win to give the Cougars the fourth point. The lone blemish for the Red & White came on the No. 4 court, as Fabiola Perez was forced to drop her singles match by retirement. Hochstatter claimed a 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) win in the No. 5 spot, while Caitlyn Sporing's fixture on the No. 6 court went unfinished.

News & Notes

• SIUE's win over Sacred Heart marked its 11th win of the season, marking the Cougars' second-consecutive season with double-digit wins.
• The win also marks the most in a single season since Head Coach Adam Albertsen began his tenure in Edwardsville. 

Up Next
The Cougars (11-1) will close out their non-conference slate on Sunday, March 20th when the Red & White host Milwaukee. Next Sunday's contest will mark the first meeting between the two programs. The match is currently scheduled to be played on campus at the SIUE Tennis Courts, weather permitting.