Lawrenceville, GA - The Patriots women's tennis team tallied their fifth consecutive sweep, this time against #11 Xavier as they defeated the Golden Nuggets 4-0 to begin the Grizzly Open. It marks UC's fifth straight win, including two straight over ranked opponents to improve to 6-2 on the season. 

Doubles play did not start Cumberlands way as Tomomi Nagao and Mikaela Fros suffered a loss at #1 singles to Tianna Dixon and Valaine Clarke by a final tally of 6-1. The Patriots evened the doubles score at 1-1 as Satsuki Mitani and Johanna Beckmann posted a 7-5 win over Valentina Largacha and Ariana Stephens. It was a back-and-forth battle at #2 doubles as the two teams traded points. After forcing a tie-breaker, the Patriots duo of Meiri Okuwaki and Tessa Gray took the tiebreaker 7-4 to win the match 7-6 and give Cumberlands a 1-0 lead in the overall match heading into singles play. 

In singles play, Nagao made it a 2-0 lead for Cumberlands with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Tianna Dixon #1 singles. The Patriots extend their lead to 3-0 with a straight set win at #6 singles. Fan Shiau posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Ariana Stephens to improve to 3-0 on the season. 

UC was looking to close out the match however, Beckmann dropped the first set at #4 singles 6-3. The junior rallied in the second set with a 6-2 win to force a decisive third set, which she won 6-0 to win the point and clinch the match for UC 4-0. 

The Patriots utilized their depth in this match as Catherine Rae (#3 singles) and Hana Shimeno (#5 singles) each won their first set at their respective position. Rae was leading 4-3 in the second set, while Shimeno was trailing 5-4 when play was halted. At #2 singles, Okuwaki dropped the first set before rallying to take the second set 6-1. The third set was tied at 1-1 when play was stopped. 

UC will look to make it three wins in four tries against ranked opponents this season when they take on #17 Reinhardt tomorrow morning. Cumberlands has a chance to extend their current winning streak out to six against the Eagles and will look to do so in their 10:00 a.m. matchup. 

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