Minneapolis -- Seniors Sarah Russell (The Woodlands, Texas/Rolling Meadows, Ill.) and Eryn Koch (Bellingham, Wash./Sehome) set the tone with a decisive win at first doubles at the Carleton College women's tennis team returned to conference action by beating Bethel Univesity, 7-2.

The Knights (10-3, 6-0 MIAC) won in their first conference match since a Feb. 25 win over the College of St. Catherine. The win pushed the Knights to the top of the MIAC standings, a half-game ahead of Gustavus Adolphus College and the College of St. Benedict.

Russell and Koch outserved and outslugged their opponents for an 8-3 win at first doubles as the region's eighth-ranked duo moved to 11-2 in dual-match play this year.

Shelley Getzendanner (Jr./Olympia, Wash./Capital) and Lisa Ottum (So./Green Day, Wis./Southwest) staged a furious comeback at second doubles, winning five straight games to come up with an 8-6 victory.

The top four singles players proved victorious for Carleton, all in straight sets. Junior Abby Beggs (Exeter, Calif./Redwood) used the slower surface at the University of Minnesota's Baseline Tennis Center to her advantage, winning for the third time in the last four matches from the top singles spot, 6-1, 6-0. Junior Christina Walker (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Thunderridge) overcame slow starts in both sets for a 6-2, 6-2 triumph at third singles.

The Knights have a key regional match on Sunday, April 2, facing the region's seventh-ranked team, the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in Rochester, Minn., at 1:30 p.m.