by Alan Babbitt

A determined Hope College women's tennis team focused on one rival first before thinking about the other one coming 24 hours later.

The 30th-ranked Flying Dutch opened Monday's match at Kalamazoo College by sweeping doubles, then went on to claim an 8-1 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association victory.

Hope (7-3, 2-0 MIAA) hosts Calvin College on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Etheridge Tennis Complex.

"Kalamazoo came out strong early in doubles," head coach Bob Cawood said. "The biggest thing was we stayed resilient and rolled with the punches. Once we got a 3-0 lead after doubles, it makes it a little easier to take a deep breath. We still had business to take care, but we didn't have extra pressure."

Freshman Sydney Jackson of Fort Wayne, Indiana (Carroll HS) and senior Taylor LaBarge of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) earned the Flying Dutch's first point with an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles against Helen Pelak and Caroline Norton.

Sophomore Bailey Chorney of Waunakee, Wisconsin (Waunakee), pictured left, and senior Erin LaBarge of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville), pictured right, overcame a 4-1 deficit at No. 3 doubles to win, 8-4, against Maddy Winarski and Ella Knight.

Juniors Claire Hallock of Lakeland, Florida (Harrison Center) and Amanda Bandrowski of Traverse City, Michigan (T.C. St. Francis) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-5 victory at the No. 1 flight against Laura Hanselman and Sonal Bahl.

At No. 1 singles, Hallock topped Hanselman, 6-0, 6-2.

At No. 2 singles, Bandrowski downed Winarski, 6-3, 6-2.

At No. 3 singles, Jackson defeated Pelak, 6-1, 6-1.

At No. 5 singles, Chorney claimed an 6-2, 6-2 victory against Bahl.

At No. 6 singles, junior Liz Pniewski of Lowell, Michigan (Grand Rapids Catholic Central) earned a 6-4, 2-6, 10-3 victory against Knight.