SENATOBIA – A hard-fought effort for the Northwest women's tennis team wasn't quite enough to lead to a victory, as East Central defeated the Lady Rangers 6-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

Aside from a gritty 9-7 victory from Piper Johnson and Kim Crider at No. 2, the Lady Warriors had no trouble taking the other two doubles matches, notching a pair of 8-1 victories.

Johnson carried her momentum over into singles play, earning a 7-5, 6-4 win at the No. 1 position against ECCC's Tatiana Quinonez. Freshman Emily Blackmarr also notched her first collegiate victory with an impressive 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 three-set battle at the No. 3 slot.

East Central would take the remaining four matches of singles play, however, to come away with the road victory.

Northwest fell to 0-3 on the season with the loss and will travel for a neutral-site match against Northeast in New Albany on Friday. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.

Singles competition
1. Piper Johnson (NWCCW) def. Tatiana Quinonez (ECCCW) 7-5, 6-4
2. Chaney Mills (ECCCW) def. Harlie Ray (NWCCW) 6-3, 6-0
3. Emily Blackmarr (NWCCW) def. Julia Johnston (ECCCW) 6-3, 4-6, 10-4
4. Andi McCrimon (ECCCW) def. Kim Crider (NWCCW) 6-4, 6-0
5. An Duong (ECCCW) def. Emily Standard (NWCCW) 6-3, 6-0
6. Emily Dykeman (ECCCW) def. Emily Newman (NWCCW) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Julia Johnston/Tatiana Quinonez (ECCCW) def. Harlie Ray/Emily Blackmarr (NWCCW) 8-1
2. Piper Johnson/Kim Crider (NWCCW) def. Chaney Mills/Andi McCrimon (ECCCW) 9-7
3. Samantha McCrimon/Hannah Payne (ECCCW) def. Emily Newman/Emily Standard (NWCCW) 8-1