NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Dominican women's tennis fell in a closely fought 6-3 match with Concordia University Irvine Monday afternoon at the Tennis Club at Newport Beach.
 
The teams started with singles play and the Eagles struck first as Johanna Keeline claimed a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court three, while teammate Anastasiia Kuprina was close behind with a 6-3, 6-1 win in No. 1 singles.
 
The remainder of the singles matches all went the to three sets as the teams continued to battle. Ghada Al-ajeely held off Kaitlyn Nguyen 6-4 in the first set, but Nguyen responded with a strong 6-1 victory in the second to even the match. Al-ajeely claimed another tight set 6-3 for the No. 5 singles court.
 
Samantha Schuster and Alex Wartenberg traded games throughout the match on the fourth court, with Schuster coming out on top 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 for the Eagles. Skyler Schaar provided the breakthrough for the Penguins holding off Ghazal Pakbaten 6-4 in the first set, before Pakbaten was able to eke out a 7-6 (6) win in the second set. Schaar bounced back for a dominant 6-1 victory in the deciding set.
 
Taylor Lim claimed a 6-3 victory in the opening set in No. 6 singles, but Kathrine Jensen rebounded to take the next two sets 7-6 (0) and 6-2 to secure the match victory for CUI.
 
Dominican showed the grit as it continued to battle into doubles. Keeline and Pakbaten claimed No. 2 doubles for the Eagles 8-0, but it would be their last team point of the match. The Penguins claimed a pair of 8-7 (5) victories on the final two courts with Rickimae Torres and Schaar paired for the victory in No. 1 singles, while Nguyen and Wartenberg won on the third court.
 
Dominican will return to the court Tuesday in La Mirada, California, as it takes on Biola at 2 p.m. PST.