PLAINFIELD, Ill. – Lewis University's women's tennis team defeated Walsh 5-2 in its season opener on Saturday evening at Five Star Tennis Center in Plainfield, Ill. The Flyers are 1-0 and the Cavaliers drop to 4-3.

Lewis took the first point of the contest winning two of the three doubles matches. Casey Smith (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) and Rita Pedroso (Porto, Portugal/Escola Secundaria Garcia de Orta) defeated Katharina Razum and Sofia Khairutdinova 6-1 and Jovana Vujanic (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) and Grace Sueflohn (Delafield, Wis./KM Global Charter School) won at number three doubles over Maria Kacalova and Clara Drasch 6-4. Sophie Davis (Mokena, Ill./Providence Catholic) and Joie Reisch (La Grange Highlands, Ill./Lyons Township) were beaten in number two doubles by Nicole Beidacki and Isabella Sanchez 7-6 (7-4) in a tie break.

The Flyers won four of the six matches in singles competition with Pedroso defeating Razum 6-0, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Smith knocked off Kacalova 7-6 (7-6), 6-2 in No. 2 singles. At No. 4 singles it was Vujanic beating Drasch 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 and Davis defeated Sanchez at No. 6 singles 6-4, 4-6, 10-5. Reisch fell to Beidacki in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 singles and Grace Sueflohn (Delafield, Wis./KM Global Charter School) was defeated by Chiara Wolff at No. 5 singles 6-1, 6-4.

Lewis returns to the courts on Friday (March 5) as they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois at 6 p.m.