The EWU women’s tennis team continued its preparation for Big Sky play with a pair of decisive non-conference home victories over the Nevada Wolfpack and the Whitman Missionaries.

The Eagles earned the doubles point against both teams, with the duo of juniors Dani Young and Katrina Domingo, along with the team of redshirt senior Moira Hedberg and junior Erin Blessing, sweeping both of their matches with relative ease.

“We started with strong doubles in both matches, which has been a huge boost for us so far this season,” said second-year head coach Dustin Hinson. “Beginning the match with a 1-0 lead and momentum has really been setting the tone for us going into singles.”

Sophomore Janaya Smith and Hedberg, the Eagles’ first and second singles players, respectively, both fell to the Wolfpack in tight matches, with Hedberg losing in three sets. But the final four singles players for EWU won their matches to give the Eagles a 5-2 victory over Nevada, who dropped to 1-3 on the season.

Sophomore Rachel Swindell, along with Young and Blessing won their matches in straight sets, while freshman Faye Worrall won a third set tiebreaker, 10-4, to improve to 3-2 on the early season.

The Eagles dropped two games in the three doubles matches, with the pairing of Smith and Hedberg bouncing back, 6-1, after falling, 3-6, to the Wolfpack earlier in the day. The two went on to win both of their singles matches in straight sets.

The Eagles as a whole dropped just one set against the Missionaries, with Swindell winning her third singles match in a third set tiebreaker, 10-8.

Hinson credited the team’s mental approach. “We had a lot of really tight moments in both matches and I believe it was our mental approach in these moments that ultimately put us on top at the end,” he said. “We are playing in the moment and controlling the things we can control.”

The Eagles open up Big Sky play against Northern Arizona on Feb. 7 with the doubles matches beginning at 3 p.m. in the Jim Thorpe Fieldhouse.