MARYVILLE – Maryville made a push right to the end but fell just short in a 5-4 defeat to Johnson here Tuesday afternoon.
The largest crowd of the season saw a reversal of the normal format, with singles played first to accommodate some Maryville academic schedules.
Elizabeth Shwaiko at No. 2 and
Abby Diggs at No. 3 gave Maryville an early lead over the Royals with a pair of straight-set victories.
But that was it for the Scots on the singles side, despite
Abby Smither taking her opponent to a full third set before falling.
In doubles, Maryville won at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Shwaiko and
Katelyn Cook teamed for an 8-3 triumph at the top spot, and then Diggs and
Eliza Cheshire won 8-6 at No. 2.
"The match went back and forth for 4½ hours," Maryville head coach
Doug Corbett said. "Our women fought very hard to the end. Very proud of Eliza to leave it all out there and play so well in doubles for the final home match of her career. She and Diggs played with great focus, intensity and did a great job of executing our game play for a fantastic win.
"We will get back to work so we can finish conference play strong. Our goal is to be playing our best tennis at the end of the season, and today was a good sign of that."
Maryville is back into Collegiate Conference of the South play this Saturday at Agnes Scott. The team plays April 22 at Covenant before jumping into the CCS tournament April 27-29.
