The Oglethorpe women's tennis team staged a furious rally against Piedmont Wednesday afternoon on the Downing Howell Courts, but couldn't quite get over the hump, losing 5-4 in the end.

The Lady Petrels fell behind 2-1 in doubles. Oglethorpe and Piedmont split relatively easy wins, the Lady Petrels taking the No. 3 match, 8-3, with the team of Kate Siess and Tricia Groover. In the No. 1 match, the two teams engaged in a spirited battle that ended in an 8-5 Piedmont win and the 2-1 lead entering singles.

In the singles portion, Piedmont took the first two matches to take a 4-1 lead and put themselves within a match of clinching the afternoon. However, the Lady Petrels began their comeback there. Marcail McGranahan took the No. 3 match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to keep Oglethorpe alive, and then Siess won her No. 5 match 6-0, 6-1. With the overall score at 4-3 in favor of Piedmont, Groover won her No. 4 match going away, 6-1, 6-4, to tie the score, 4-4.

This meant that the entire dual match would be decided by the No. 6 match. Charlsie Johnson lost the first set, 6-3, but went ahead 2-0 in the second. However, Piedmont's No. 6 player came back to win the second set, 6-4, to clinch the dual match for Piedmont.

Wednesday was Senior Day for the women's tennis team, and the squad celebrated the career of Clara Reinheimer. Reinheimer was involved in the No. 2 doubles match with Hailey Bowers. The pair lost the match, 8-2.

The loss drops the Lady Petrels to 2-14 on the season. The team goes on the road for its final regular-season SAA weekend of the season starting Saturday, when they take on Hendrix at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. Then they'll travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on Rhodes Sunday at the same time.