Buena Vista, Va. | Meredith College's tennis team faced a tough challenge on the road against Southern Virginia University, falling 7-0 to open conference play. Meredith fought hard with a gritty doubles performance from Anna Bittler and Kate Jackson, followed by competitive singles play by Claire Southern and Hannah Jo Jablonski.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Knights won the doubles point. They tallied 6-0 wins in #1 and #2 doubles. The third doubles pairing of Anna Bittler and Kate Jackson battled closely but ultimately fell 7-5 to Elizabeth Ursenback and Hailey Seamons.
• Meredith's singles play was marked by some gutsy individual efforts. Claire Southern put forth a strong performance at the No. 2 singles spot. Although she lost in straight sets (4-6, 1-6) to Southern Virginia's Lydia Delich, Southern showed resilience throughout the match, especially in the first set where she won four games.

• Hannah Jo Jablonski also showed grit in her match at No. 4 singles. Facing Remly Fry, Jablonski battled hard but lost 7-5, 6-2. Her fight in the opening set gave Meredith a glimpse of potential, but Southern Virginia's Fry came away with the victory in the second set.
• Other singles results saw Ellie Osborne, Cate Reilly, Anna Bittler, and Kate Jackson fall to their Southern Virginia opponents in straight sets.

UP NEXT:

• The Avenging Angels will look to bounce back as they return home to host their first USA South match of the season on Friday, March 26th at 3:00 p.m. against Methodist.