ORLANDO, Fla. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team was edged 5-4 by Whitworth University in its final match in Florida on Thursday morning at the USTA National Campus.

St. Olaf (9-2) took won two of the three doubles matches – all of which went to tiebreakers – to enter singles with a lead, but Whitworth (9-6) secured four points in singles to come from behind and grab the win in the second-ever meeting between the two programs. The Oles had won all four of their previous matches this season decided by a 5-4 margin.

All three doubles matches went all the way to a tiebreaker, with St. Olaf coming out on top in the tiebreaks at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Juniors Olha Zubarieva and Sarah Clark won their tiebreaker 7-2 atop the lineup, while junior Fiona O'Flaherty and senior Gao Sheng Thao took theirs 7-3 at third doubles. Zubarieva and Clark's win improved their record this season to 6-3, while O'Flaherty and Thao's victory came in their first match as a tandem.

Whitworth took a 3-2 lead with victories at No. 3 and No. 2 singles before O'Flaherty leveled the match at 3-3 with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 4 singles to improve to 10-0 this season. The Pirates got the necessary five points via straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 6 singles before Clark closed out a 6-1, 7-6 (9-7) victory at No. 5 singles to move to 5-3 on the season.

St. Olaf returns to Northfield to face Carleton College on Wednesday, April 10 at 4:30 p.m. at Carleton's Pat Lamb Tennis Courts.