Grinnell 5, Lake Forest 4
Grinnell 6, Carroll 3

GRINNELL, Iowa – A pair of huge Midwest Conference victories at 10th Avenue Courts Saturday secured a spot in the league tourney for the Grinnell College women's tennis team.
 
The Pioneers opened the day by edging Lake Forest College 5-4 and then knocked off Carroll University 6-3. That gave the Pioneers, who are 8-4 overall, a 7-2 mark in league play which guarantees them a place in the top four and spot in the tourney. That event is set for next spring and will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
 
Grinnell trailed 2-1 after doubles against Lake Forest, with the win coming at the No. 3 spot from the tandem of Julia Rumley '16 and Sydney Banach '18. They posted an 8-2 victory.
 
Grinnell came back strong in singles with wins in four of the six matches. Shirlene Luk '15 won 6-0, 6-3 at the top spot, Anushka Joshi '18 posted a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 4, Rumley rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 and Minna Montgomery '16 earned a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 6.
 
Grinnell won twice in doubles against Carroll, as Hannah Cook '18 and Joshi earned an 8-6 decision at No. 2 and Banach and Rumley cruised 8-3 at No. 3.
 
In singles, the Pioneers won at Nos. 3 through 6 with Cook (6-0, 6-3), Joshi (6-1, 7-6), Rumley (6-0, 6-0) and Montgomery (6-3, 6-2).

"I am incredibly pleased for our women because they posted some huge wins when their backs were against the wall during the last two weeks of the season," said Grinnell coach Andy Hamilton. "Shirlene, Ginny and Hannah regularly stepped on the court in our conference matches knowing that their singles and doubles positions were important to our team. Their play always showed a lot of heart and our successes would not have occurred without their efforts.
 
"Anushka, Julia, Sydney, Minna and Briannah all either pushed up in the lineup or answered the call when a teammate was injured," he added. "Their play got stronger and stronger as the season went on. In fact, their production in the final weekend of the season enabled our success as they produced 14 wins out a possible 15 matches."
 
Grinnell closes out its fall regular season Sunday with a home match against Beloit College. Action starts at 9 a.m.