KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Ursinus College women's tennis team began its spring swing in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to snatch a thrilling 5-4 victory over Northwestern (Minn.) in the Sunshine State.

Playing singles first, Ursinus (1-1) found itself trailing early, but seniors BreAnna Bashaw and Stephanie-Jane Seabra and sophomore Aileen Bevard kept the Bears in contention with critical individual victories. Bashaw took her second singles match by a 7-5, 6-1 verdict, and Bevard won 6-0, 7-5 at third singles.

That set the stage for Seabra, who shook off a 7-5 first-set defeat out of the sixth flight to capture the second, 6-2, and force a super tiebreaker to decide the match. The senior outlasted the Eagles' Nikki Edin, 10-7, to send the sides into doubles play deadlocked at 3.

The tension only ratcheted up from there. Trailing 7-5 on the top court, Bevard and fellow sophomore Ashley Nguyen ran off the next four games for a stunning 9-7 triumph, handing the Bears a 4-3 lead and putting them on the brink of victory. The clincher just a few minutes later, when Bashaw and sophomore Ariel Danziger polished off an 8-5 decision at second doubles, rendering Northwestern's 9-7 triumph at number three moot.

The Bears are back in action Tuesday night with a match versus Wittenberg.

Coaches Corner

"That was a great win by the girls," said head coach Pete Smith. "It was tight all the way, and there were many times in the match where it did not look good for us. They just kept fighting, kept working, and eventually they broke through. This was a resilient group tonight. I am very proud of this team right now, and I'm hoping this win can be a springboard for the rest of the trip."