ROCHESTER, Minn. – The No. 38-ranked Carleton College women's tennis team defeated No. 42-ranked Bethel University 8-1 in a match moved indoors at Rochester Tennis Connection.
 
The two squads entered the contest with matching 9-2 overall records and 4-0 ledgers in conference action. Although Carleton won the first five team points to secure the victory, the final four singles matches each required super tiebreakers to determine a victor.
 
The Knights grabbed the early lead as Ingrid Smith and Ryann Witter raced to an 8-0 victory at No. 2 doubles, the pairing's seventh victory in 10 matches this season. Amanda Black and Kat Smiricinschi followed with an 8-3 result at the third slot.
 
In a battle of regionally-ranked doubles pairings, Carleton's Amelia Asfaw and Mariam Nechiporuk knocked off Bethel's Lauryn Douglas and Michaella Sullivan by an 8-6 tally to complete the doubles sweep.
 
Asfaw was first to finish in solo play, besting Douglas by a 6-1, 6-3 score in a matchup of ranked singles players. Nechiporuk defeated Sullivan 7-5, 6-1 at No. 2 singles to give Carleton its fifth team point and the overall victory.
 
Bethel won the opening set at the other four singles matches, but three of those would eventually go into the Carleton win column.
 
Kiley Pickens notched her 10th victory of the campaign as she secured a 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 1-0 (10-5) win over Julia Baber at No. 4 singles.
 
Witter improved to 9-2 on the year after she bounced back from dropping the first set to Emma Thole to prevail 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-1) at the fifth slot. Piper Brown matched Witter's victory total with her 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-3) triumph over Courtney Nuest at No. 6 singles.
 
The final match of the day was a thriller between Miriam Shteyman and Bethel's Claire Keller, who won the first set 7-5 but dropped the second by a 6-2 score. In the super tiebreaker, Keller trailed 7-5 before winning four straight points to shift momentum and claim the Royals' lone team point with a 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8) result.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton visits cross-town rival St. Olaf College for a 4:00 p.m. match on Wednesday, April 9.