The Oglethorpe women's tennis team got back on the winning track Tuesday afternoon at the Downing Howell Courts, as they defeated the visiting Piedmont Lions 8-1 to improve to 6-9 on the season.

The match got started with a clean sweep at the doubles competiton, as all three Petrels teams performed exceptionally well. Freshman Caroline Johnson and junior Katherine Walker took out their opponents at No. 1 in a one-sided match, 8-2. Meanwhile, sophomore Ingrid Wilcox and freshman Halley Sickling did the same at No. 3 doubles, winning 8-3. Juniors Marcail McGranahan and MaryAnne Hafen found themselves locked in a tight match at No. 2, but the Stormy Petrel duo prevailed in the end, 8-6, sending their team to a huge 3-0 lead going into the singles competition. 

Johnson continued Oglethorpe's excellent run-of-play, taking down Piedmont in a No. 1 singles match, 6-1, 6-2. That result put the Petrels within one single match of clinching the dual match, and they did just that when Wilcox took down her No. 4 match, 6-1, 6-1. The afternoon continued with McGranahan falling 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 in the only Petrel loss of the afternoon. Hafen blitzed her opponent at No. 5, 6-0, 6-1, and Walker did similarly at No. 2, 6-0, 6-2. The final match of the day featured Sickling in the No. 6 singles match, and she won by a solid margin, as well, taking the match 6-3, 6-2.

"It's nice to get a needed win," said Head Coach Peter Howell. "Sweeping the doubles was big and the girls carried the momentum from that into a solid performance in the singles. This was our big lift after our tough conference matches last weekend."

The Petrels will continue their week with a non-conference match against Middle Georgia Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. on the Downing Howell Courts. Then, they'll take on Rhodes and Hendrix on the road in SAA competition this weekend Friday and Saturday.