ST. LOUIS, Mo. (April 15, 2022) – One day before taking on the No. 1 nationally-ranked team in NCAA Division III, the No. 30 Denison University women's tennis team played against No. 19 Washington University in St. Louis and came up just short by a final score of 5-4 against the Bears.

Denison's lone win in doubles was an 8-3 victory by Sydney Cianciola and Sarah Robertson in the top spot.

Denison's first singles win was a 6-3, 6-2 decision by Caroline Lopez at No. 5 singles to make it 4-2.

The final two matches to finish at No. 1 and No. 2 singles both went to the Big Red as well, but it was too little too late. Robertson earned a three-set victory with a score of 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, and then Cianciola grinded out a three-set win herself at No. 1 singles, but this one came down to a tiebreaker as she won 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).

In what could have been a pivotal match at No. 6 singles, Susan Biederstedt fell 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 after nearly winning the first set.

The Big Red are now 10-5 overall on the season while WashU improved to 14-6 overall and remained a perfect 8-0 at home.

Friday's match was the beginning of a stretch of three straight games against fellow nationally-ranked teams for the Big Red before their Senior Day. Next up will be the challenge presented by No. 1 the University of Chicago, starting at 10 a.m. Central Standard Time at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri.