ORLANDO - Franciscan started off their annual spring break trip to Florida with a busy Monday that included a pair of matches. The morning would be a dominant win for Franciscan over Western Connecticut State, and then they dropped to a deep, Wisconsin La-Crosse team that played 12 different players in the evening.

Franciscan 7, Western Connecticut 2

Doubles
     The Barons would be able to win two out of three doubles matches. Maria Herrera and Kina Ehlers would be the first to finish at #1 doubles, as they won 8-1. Hannah Franzone and Isballa Matt would win a close one, 8-7 at #3 singles to give the Barons a 2-1 edge heading into singles.

Singles
    Maggie Gallagher would be the first to finish, as she earned her first collegiate win at #6 singles, 6-2, 6-1. Maria Herrera picked up her 16th win of the season with a dominant performance at #1 singles. Kina Ehlers grabbed her first win of 2024 at #2 singles by a score of 6-3, 6-1. Delaney Dawson pulled off a come-from behind win in three sets at #4 singles, and Jordan Beltavski won in straight sets at #3 singles. 

    That would give the Barons their 10th win of the 2023-24 season by a score of 7-2 over the Wolves.
 

---

Franciscan 2, Wisconsin-La Crosse 7

Doubles
     The Barons would get swept in doubles, but each match was a battle. Maria Herrera and Kina Ehlers were the closest to winning in their 8-5 match at the #1 spot.

Singles
    Herrera and Ehlers would each pick up their second, singles win of the day. Herrera won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. Ehlers came from behind in an epic match. She dropped the first set 6-3 and then won the second by that same score. Then in the tiebreaker it would go on forever, but Ehlers would come out victorious 15-13.

Next Up
    Franciscan will get a well-deserved day off on Tuesday, They return to action on Wednesday afternoon as they take on the University of Sioux Falls. This will be the first time that these two teams will square off for a tennis match. This will also be the second NCAA Division II opponent for the Barons in 2024. 

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan University on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of Franciscan Athletics.