GLENDALE, Wis. — The Milwaukee Area Technical College women's tennis team came up just short in a 5-4 loss to McHenry College on Saturday morning at Elite Sports Club–North Shore, but the narrow margin marked a breakthrough for the Stormers program, which had been swept 9-0 by the Scots in each of the past two seasons.

"I'm very proud of how the ladies played against McHenry, which is a team that has beaten us 9-0 in all of the previous matches since I've been at MATC," Stormers head coach Mark Picard said. "The 4-5 result shows how all the hard work the players are doing in practice is paying off.

"We had legitimate chances to win the dual as we lost a match tiebreaker in one match and were a set tiebreaker away from forcing a second match tiebreaker in another," he added. "We will continue to improve and I'm looking forward to the opportunities ahead of us."

McHenry jumped out to an early lead by taking two of the three doubles matches, putting the Stormers in a 2-1 hole heading into singles play. MATC battled back with competitive performances across the lineup, winning three singles flights but ultimately falling just shy of the program's first victory over the Scots in recent memory.

Multiple matches went the distance, underscoring the team's improved depth and resilience as they continue to build momentum in the fall campaign. MATC's freshman duo of Ellea Gleesing and Natalie Schroeder earned the Stormers' lone doubles victory, defeating McHenry's Emmy Lewis and Ruth Biezkness, 8-5.

In singles play, Reese Thao, Kamilla Mamedova and Schroeder each picked up wins. Thao rallied for a three-set victory (3-6, 6-3, 10-7), while Mamedova also prevailed in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 10-5). Schroeder cruised to a straight-sets win (6-1, 6-0) to close out the Stormers' scoring in singles. Additionally, freshman teammates Avery Hansen and Ava Hughes also contributed with exhibition victories.