A solid performance from junior Kelsey Post in both her singles and doubles matches proved the highlight of women’s tennis’ loss to the No. 10 ranked Arizona Christian University Firestorm on April 9. Post improved her singles record to a team-leading 10-8 on the season, and combined with Heer to get the doubles win.

Rough outting

The first meeting of the season between these two teams ended in Arizona’s favor, winning it 8-1. This time, Biola won an additional match against Arizona, but the outcome remained the same, as the Firestorm took the 7-2 win. Biola drops to 5-15 entering the Golden State Athletic Conference championships on April 19.

Play started with singles, where all but one of the matches went in Arizona’s favor. The exception came on the fifth court, where junior Kelsey Post bageled her opponent, Desiree Curiel, in both sets. Curiel and Post played each other both meetings this season, with Post coming on top both times. The first time proved much closer, as Post required a tiebreaker third set to get the victory. Junior Madeline Heer came the closest of the remaining Eagles to getting a match win, as she won three games in the first set and two in the second.

In doubles, the Eagles grabbed their second win on the top court, where Heer and Post won their match 8-5. They played the same team from Arizona, who are ranked No. 10 in the nation, and coincidentally beat Heer and Post by that same score the first time they played. Biola’s second team, composed of seniors Kathryn Ashford and Susan Carmichael, dropped their game by a final score of 8-1. On the third court, sophomore Brooke Sanford and freshman Katie Boesl lost 8-2.

Controlling the effort

The Eagles finish the regular season in fifth place in the GSAC standing with a conference record of 3-6, which sets them up to play Hope International University in the first round of playoffs on April 19. This is the fifth year in a row Biola has made it to the playoffs. Hope International sits in last place in the conference, and the Eagles beat them 8-1 both times they played this season.

However, head coach Dee Henry, who is retiring+from head coach after this season, wants her team to play to the best of their abilities, but knows there is more to success than just that.

“We can only control the effort not the outcome,” Henry said. “We are focusing on the process and the destination will take care of itself.”