KOHLER, Wis. - Ripon's women's tennis team opened the season Friday night about as good as they could have hoped, defeating Lakeland 7-2 in Head Coach Rob Oertel's first match leading the Red Hawks tennis program. That marks the second consecutive season the Red Hawks have started the year with a victory.

In doubles play, Ripon won two of the three matches, including at number one doubles where freshmen Brianna Bembenek and Hannah Ryback teamed up for an 8-0 victory. Ripon's number three team of Samantha Kiesner and Katelyn Peroutka were also victorious by a score of 8-3.

Bembenek and Ryback were also impressive in singles play where they won 6-3, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-2, respectively, at the number one and two flights. Kiesner added a team point with a win at the fourth flight (6-2, 6-0), while Warner earned a hard fought victory at the fifth flight, 3-6, 6-0 (10-8), and Peroutka won 6-0, 6-0 at the sixth flight.

"I was really impressed with the composure of our two freshmen playing 1 and 2," Oertel said. "You couldn't even tell that they're freshmen who were playing their first-ever college tennis match, and it showed in their results."

The Red Hawks will be in action again on Thursday when they'll open Midwest Conference play at Lawrence in Appleton, Wis. at 4 p.m.