GEORGETOWN, TX – No. 34 UC Santa Cruz women's tennis defeated 40th-ranked Southwestern 8-1 on Saturday morning in the second match of their weekend Texas trip.
UC Santa Cruz improved to 10-5 this season, their most dual wins since 2013. After a tough loss to 11th-ranked Trinity on Friday, the Banana Slugs were able to get the important road win.

"Today's match really demonstrated the depth and strength of our team," said senior Tanner Rowland. "The energy was strong, and we were all resilient through the ups and downs of our matches. I could not be more proud of everyone and the fight they showed today."
 
After the Banana Slugs swept the doubles portion, Sara Beckman and Chloe Wu quickly took the first two singles matches. Meghana Damojipurapu won a hard-fought 7-5, 6-2 match at No. 4, Natalie Sprenger won a three-set classic at No. 3, and Rowland finished the day with an amazing 3-6, 6-3, 10-6 comeback at No. 5. It was Rowland's first singles win since missing two weeks with illness.
 
"I thought we all played great and bounced back from yesterday," said Beckman. "We could've let the Trinity loss affect us, but we completely reset and I'm super proud of our mental strength."
 
"The team fought insanely hard throughout the lineup," added Damojipurapu after her sixth dual win this spring. "Everyone worked relentlessly despite being down in the set. I'm so proud of everyone for bouncing back from yesterday and continuing to push each other harder every day."
 
The Banana Slugs close the weekend Sunday morning at Schreiner University.