SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel women's tennis dropped a 4-3 decision to College of Saint Mary Saturday afternoon at Cooper Tennis Complex.

The Flames (4-0) pulled out the win in the doubles competition, as Renee Acena and Jaclyn Negrete completed a win over EU's Abigail Chaney and Karson Phipps (2-6), and the duo of Kaia Chiasson and Leah Dennell topped Carly McAtee and Neely Bridges (2-6). The Crusaders Ana Bjelica and Courtney Yates did earn a 7-5 victory over the Flames top doubles duo of Tessa Hurst and Regi Zakrzewski.

The singles portion of the match came down to Negrete's win over Neely Bridges (2-6, 6-4, 0-1 [7]) in a tie-breaker, after Chaney knocked off Hurst (6-2, 6-0) and McAtee defeated Zakrzewski (6-2, 6-4) to even things up for the Crusaders. Bethany Overturff also notched a win for the Crusaders (3-2), edging Dennell, 7-5, 6-2.

Evangel Doubles Results (CSM 1, EU 0)
Ana Bjelica/Courtney Yates (EU) def. Tessa Hurst/Regi Zakrzewski (CSM), 7-5
Renee Acena/ Regi Zakrzewski (CSM) def. Abigail Chaney/Karson Phipps (EU), 6-2
Kaia Chiasson/Leah Dennell (CSM) def. Carly McAtee/Neely Bridges (EU), 6-2

Evangel Singles Results (EU 3, CSM 3)
Renee Acena (CSM) def. Ana Bjelica (EU), 6-2, 6-0
Abigail Chaney (EU) def. Tessa Hurst (CSM), 6-2, 6-0
Carly McAtee (EU) def. Regi Zakrzewski (CSM), 6-2, 6-4
Kaia Chiasson (CSM) def. Courtney Yates (EU), 6-1, 6-0
Jaclyn Negrete (CSM) def. Neely Bridges (EU), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (7)
Bethany Overturf (EU) def. Leah Dennell (CSM), 7-5, 6-2

Up Next
The Crusaders continue their early season home stand next Friday (March 12) when they host Newman in a 12:30 p.m., competition at Cooper Tennis Complex.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, follow the Crusaders on Facebook at Facebook.com/EUAthletics, Twitter (@EUAthletics), or visit EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on the team by downloading the new Evangel Crusaders GamedayApp through Google Play. 

—EvangelAthletics.com—