The Ursinus College Men's and Women's tennis teams got their spring break off to a strong start on Monday, as they both defeated Lake Forest College in Orlando, Florida.

The Ursinus women's team (2-0) was solid throughout the lineup in a 9-0 victory.  In doubles, the freshman duo of Ashley Nguyen and Aileen BeVard captured an 8-5 win in the first flight.  Senior Audrey Whitebloom and junior Steph Seabra were also winners, gaining an 8-2 triumph in the second flight.

In singles, the Bears were able to dominate the middle of the lineup against the short handed Foresters (10-5).  After victories at the top by Nguyen and Whitebloom, junior Bre Bashaw and senior Christina Cromwell dropped only 2 games combined in their two matches to pace Ursinus.

The Ursinus men (3-0) were pushed by the Lake Forest men (4-5), but saw contributions from the entire line up on the way to a very competitive 6-3 win.

The Bears got off to a 2-1 lead in the doubles portion of the match.  Freshman Caleb Kramer and junior Tyler Arsenault, playing together for the first time, pulled out an impressive 8-5 victory at first doubles.  After Lake Forest evened the match at 1-1 with a win at third doubles, Ursinus took the lead for good as junior Dalton Lynch and sophomore Henry Burke put on a doubles clinic in a critical 8-4 victory.

"Dalton and Henry really gave us a key win at second doubles," Head Coach Pete Smith said. "I really think that was some of the best doubles those two have played in their career here.  It was a clutch performance, and it really set us up nicely for the singles portion of the match."

Ursinus was able to win 4 of the 6 singles flights to clinch the match.  After Arsenault tallied a quick 6-0, 6-1 win at the second flight, the Bears took charge in the back of the lineup.  Lynch (#4), freshman Peter Shields (#5) and senior Mike Melchiorre (#6) were all straight set winners, giving the Bears a solid opening match win on this 2015 Spring Break trip.

Both squads are back on the courts Tuesday in double header action.  The men and women play a dual match at 10:00 am vs. Illinois Wesleyan, and follow that with a 6:00 pm dual match vs Oneonta State.