CAYCE, S.C. - The Agnes Scott College tennis team kicked off their spring season with a lot of excitement, dropping a close 5-4 decision to Columbia College today on the road.  Maddie Hoffman and Taylor Lee both won twice for the Scotties, but it was not enough to overcome the Koalas (2-4).

In the doubles, Hoffman and Lee were victorious at the #2 spot, downing Ashley Latham and Lydia Royals by a score of 8-4.  At #1 and #3 doubles, the Scotties went down by identical scores of 8-5, with Anne Rinaldo and Claire Rinaldo falling at the top spot, while Camille Wilson and Anastasia Bennett fought back from a 5-1 deficit before dropping the final two games.

In singles, Hoffman was the first to finish her match, taking care of Latham after a rough first set, 7-5, 6-1.  Anne Rinaldo would give the Scotties their only team lead of the day after taking her match at #3 over Mara Reiss, winning 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.  The Koalas would fight back with a win at #6 to level the match at 3-3, and Erin Green took down Claire Rinaldo in two tiebreaks to give the Koalas the lead, 4-3.

The final two matches left on court were mirrors of one another, as Lee would fight back from a set down for the Scotties, and take her match against Royals, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.  However, the Koalas had a comeback of their own at #5, as Sanya Pantelic came back from a set down to take out Wilson, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

"This was a fight all the way around today," commented Scottie head coach T.J. Greggs, "I always tell the team that I will never be upset at them if we fight, and we definitely did that today."

The match was the first dual match for five of the Scotties, with only the Rinaldos having competed last year for the Scotties.  

"I am disappointed that we lost," indicated Greggs, "but I was happy that the first year players were all able to hold it together for the most part today."

The Scotties have a week off before returning to the court on Friday, February 20, when they travel to Oglethorpe University.