MOUNT VERNON & GRINNELL, Iowa – The Ripon College women's tennis team opened Midwest Conference play on Saturday with a pair of road matches, falling 8-1 at Cornell College and 9-0 at Grinnell College.

Match One

Cornell (4-0, 1-0 MWC) grabbed the early momentum by sweeping doubles play, taking 6-0, 6-1, and 6-0 victories across the three courts to lead 1-0.

In singles action, Ripon (0-5, 0-1 MWC) earned its lone point of the day at No. 5 when senior Allison Pavlovec (Decorah, Iowa, Decorah HS) was tied 5-5 before her opponent was forced to retire. Cornell won the remaining singles matches in straight sets to secure the 8-1 victory.

Match Two

In the afternoon matchup, defending conference champion Grinnell (2-0, 2-0 MWC) extended its conference winning streak to 38 straight shutouts, topping Ripon 9-0 at the 10th Avenue Courts.

Grinnell controlled doubles play with three wins before taking all six singles courts in straight sets. Ripon's best effort came at No. 4 singles, where junior Jessi Griepentrog (Freedom, Wis., Fox Vally Lutheran HS) grabbed four games in the second set before falling 6-2, 6-4.

Ripon returns to action next Sunday, Sept 21, on the road at Marian University (1-2, 0-0 NACC).