The women’s tennis team (2-4) embarked on an arduous stretch of games last weekend. The Wildcats came out on the winning end of a three-match set over the course of four days, with strong outings by senior Leighann Reilly, sophomore Jaclyn Williamson and freshman Carla Erskine.

The first match of the weekend came against Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. The ‘Cats captured their first victory of the season with a strong showing in both the singles and doubles matches, dominating the Mountain Hawks with a score of 5-2. Villanova took early control of the meeting, winning all three doubles matches. Reilly and Williamson won the second doubles match before going on to claim victory in the second and third singles matches, 6-3, 6-3 and 6-2, 6-1, respectively. After winning her doubles match with partner Courtney Reed, Erskine rallied to win an exciting three-set match in the fourth singles matchup.

Villanova’s next competition came in a close match against the University of Connecticut Friday afternoon. Although the Huskies claimed the doubles point, the top pairing of Candice Carlin, senior, and Ashley Reed, junior, captured a 8-6 win. Carlin went on to win the No. 1 singles match, with Williamson and Erskine picking up victories in their singles matches as well. Reilly made her singles match close with a score of 7-6, 7-6 but was unable to overcome her UConn foe. In all, the Wildcats fell just short, losing to the Huskies by a score of 3-4.

Despite the travel and loss on Friday, Villanova bounced back Saturday afternoon with a 4-3 victory at home against Rutgers. Much like the previous day, all of the Wildcats’ points came from singles matches. Once again, Williamson and Reilly shone in their performances throughout the afternoon. The pair started out the game with the only doubles win for Villanova, defeating their opponents by a 8-4 margin. Williamson won her match in three sets with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, while Reilly captured the third singles slot by a tally of 6-2, 6-2. Erskine also finished off the three-game set strong with a victory in the fourth singles game, and freshman Colleen Walter solidified the Wildcats’ second victory of the season with a 7-6, 6-4 sweep of the sixth singles spot.

After spending the week at home, Villanova hits the road again this weekend for a two-day set. The ‘Cats will take on the University of Pittsburgh Saturday before traveling to West Virginia on Sunday.