HILTON HEAD, S.C. - SIUE women's tennis opened its 2023 spring break road trip to South Carolina with a victory Tuesday morning.

With a 7:30 a.m. CT start time, the Cougars defeated Saginaw Valley State 6-1 at the Chaplin Park Tennis Center.

"Picking up a win is a good start to the week," said SIUE Head Coach Adam Albertsen. "We were able to work all eight of our Cougars into the lineup and come away with the team victory."

SIUE, 9-2, began the morning with a doubles point win as Jaiden McKee and Caitlyn Sporing scored a 6-4 victory over Irene Latorre Barreiro and Alexis Anthes at No. 3 doubles.

The Cougars wasted little time wrapping up the match with five more singles wins. Jordan Schifano led the charge with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Amelia Dickson at No. 3 singles. Amelia Gorman gave SIUE a 3-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 singles over Johanna Michelles.

Melissa Vizcardo scored the clinching point, a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Elizabeth Stuart at No. 6 singles. The Cougars also picked up singles wins from Fabiola Perez, a 6-4, 6-1 win over Calli Sokolowski at No. 5 singles, and Margaux Guibal Britt at No. 2 singles 6-2, 6-3.

SIUE next heads to Hilton Head High School for a noon CT matchup Wednesday against South Carolina State.

"Playing outdoors brings a different style of tennis out, and I think we learned a lot today," said Albertsen. "Tomorrow we play a team that is filled with high energy and defeated us a few years back. We are excited to get back out there for another test and see where we stack up."

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