NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's tennis team dropped its season opener by a 4-3 margin to non-conference foe UW-Superior on Friday at Carlson Courts and Tostrud Center.

Senior Alexandra Berns was victorious in both of her matches atop the lineup for St. Olaf (0-1), but UW-Superior (4-1) won two of the three doubles matches and got the singles split it needed to claim the victory. The match started outdoors in near record-high temperatures in the mid-to-upper 80s before moving inside due to darkness.

Berns and fellow senior Emma Clift put the first point on the board with a 6-1 victory at No. 1 doubles before the Yellowjackets took the final two matches to grab the doubles point. UW-Superior was victorious by a 6-4 margin at No. 2 doubles and a 6-2 margin at No. 3 doubles.

In her first collegiate match at No. 1 singles, Berns rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 victory to tie the match at 2-2, but UW-Superior won the next three matches to conclude to secure the team result.

First years Dana Keesler and Norah Brusco recorded straight-set victories in their collegiate dual-match debuts in the final two matches to finish. Keesler closed out her match in a second-set tiebreak to post a 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory at No. 4 singles, while Brusco registered a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles.

St. Olaf will travel to Concordia-Moorhead for its final match of the fall and its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener on Sunday, Oct. 5 at noon at Courts Plus in Fargo, N.D.