LAWRENCE, Kan. -- The John Brown University women's tennis team pieced together consecutive wins in the final action of the regular seasons, sweeping past Baker (Kan.), 7-0, for the second time this season, before riding junior Ellie Swan's win at the five spot to complete a 4-3 win over Missouri Valley at the Lawrence Sports Pavilion on April 5.
After taking the doubles point against Baker (0-19), the Golden Eagles rattled off five consecutive wins in singles play against the five-woman Wildcat roster. Senior Caroline Hillock began with a 6-2, 6-1 win at the fourth spot with Swan completing the complete-team effort with mirror 6-0 wins at the five over Jordan Grabast.
Senior Abigail Woodring captured a 6-1 win in the first set at the second flight, but had to battle in the third set to win 10-6 in the tiebreak after Cambrie Frame used a 7-6 (8-6) win in the second set to force the third set.
With Swan's (10-4) win at the five, she joined senior Lin Xin Tan in double-digit singles victories column.
Against Missouri Valley, however, a 3-0 lead evaporated and required Swan to grab her 11th win of the year at the five to break a three-all tie, vaulting the Golden Eagles to its first 10-win season in the 21st century.
Swan bested Laura Moreno, 6-2, 6-4, ending a three-flight winning streak for the Vikings (4-8) and moved to 10-2 at the five this season.
The Golden Eagles (10-6) started out by using a Swan and junior Erin Kuykendall 6-4 win at the second doubles spot to break a 1-1 tie in tandem action.
Armed with a 1-0 lead, John Brown won the first two singles pairings. Tan improved to 14-2 on the season with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Renata Martinez, while Woodring again was forced to play a third set. This time, after dropping the first set, Woodring battled back and easily won the second, 6-1, before clinching the third-set tiebreak, 10-7.
The Golden Eagles will now take a hiatus and prepare for the postseason. John Brown will wait for seedings to be released for the quarterfinal round of the Unaffiliated Group Regional Championships scheduled for April 24-25 at the Dwight D. Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis.