Houghton Women's Tennis kicked off their conference play with an 8-1 victory over Utica College on Saturday afternoon. The Highlanders took an early lead with an 8-0 win at second doubles, scored by senior Alicia Cline and Sophomore Erin Haley. Third doubles, Tessa Brown and Maddison Soth, won Houghton's second victory of the day with an 8-6 proset. First doubles capped off the beginning portion of the competition with an 8-4 victory, to send the Highlanders into singles with a 3-0 advantage over Utica.

"The girls really came out strong in doubles today. It is something we have been talking about a lot this week, so it's great to see them doing it," said Head Coach Tonya McGraner.

An injury withdraw gave Houghton their first singles victory. Play stopped with Houghton freshman Elise Swanson up 6-0, 3-0 in the match. Alicia Cline grabbed her first team-match clinch of the season with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 4 singles. Cline did not drop a single game across either of her matches today. Senior Catie Moore secured the next victory, followed by Sophomores Erin Haley and Tessa Brown.

"It was a great way to start conference play," remarked Coach McGraner "We've got two conference matches and one non-conference next week, so it's really crunch time for us."

The Highlanders return to play at home against Roberts Wesleyan on Tuesday at 4pm.