Houghton women's tennis team ended its two-game winning streak after a tough loss to SUNY Oneonta 9-0 on Friday and a defeat in a close battle against Hartwick 6-3 on Saturday.
 
On Friday, Oneonta got off to a hot start taking all three doubles points to get the match underway. The third doubles tandem of Sophia Yescott and Maddison Soth played well and had moments to provide a spark, but could not sustain the level falling 8-2 in the end. In singles play, Erin Haley played an inspired match at first singles falling 6-2, 6-2 in a match that was tighter than the score would insinuate.
 
Transitioning into Saturday, the Highlanders looked to rebound against a solid conference opponent in Hartwick, but came up just short in the end. Hartwick would take the lead after doubles play 2-1, as courts 1 and 2 had tightly contested affairs. Erin Haley and Elise Swanson would come up short 8-7 (7-5) at the first doubles position. Chloe Esch and Maddison Soth closed out a thriller 8-7 (7-5) at the second pairing to get the Highlanders on the board. Hilaeah Johnson and Tessa Brown were bested 8-3 at the third doubles position.
 
With the match still up for grabs, the Highlanders would show their resiliency in singles play. Chloe Esch cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory at third singles to get the Highlanders underway. Soth fought back to win at the fourth singles position 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to get the last point of the day for Houghton. On court two, Erin Haley would barely lose 7-5, 4-6, 9-11 and Tessa Brown was edged 6-4, 2-6, 3-6.
 
"The match against Hartwick was as close of a match as you can get and much closer than the score showed," Head Coach Zach Shilvock explained post-match. "The ladies were right there today, but it just came down to a few points here and there that decided the match. I fully expect to see this team again later this season and I am excited for that challenge. I am overall pleased with the level of tennis I saw today against a quality opponent."