The women's tennis team went to Kalamazoo, Mich., desperate for a win last weekend and left satisfied. Marquette defeated Cincinnati 5-2 Saturday but lost 7-0 to No. 50 Western Michigan on Sunday.

"The win over Cincinnati was huge for us," said head coach Jody Bronson. "We were missing one of our starters, so everyone had to step it up. They did the job on Saturday."

The missing starter was No. 2 singles player Lauren Little, who is fighting soreness in her shoulder, and will be re-evaluated by doctors Wednesday. Her status for Friday's home match against Ohio State is unknown.

"Against Western Michigan on Sunday, we were up and down. For a game or two we would make too many unforced errors," Bronson said of Sunday's 7-0 loss. "They were a very smart team, very disciplined from start to finish."

Bronson spoke of the terrific doubles play the Golden Eagles displayed all weekend. Maria Calbeto and Francina Bonnelly beat Cincinnati's Jenny Rowen and Lindsay Willeford 8-1 at No. 1 doubles. They kept unforced errors to a minimum. Against Western Michigan, Marquette lost a tie-breaker at No. 2 doubles. Dominika Dabrowski and Robin Metzler lost to Reedhina Parekh and Kerstin Pahl in that match, 9-8 (9-7).

"They challenged us in doubles," said Western Michigan assistant coach Ryan Tomlinson.

"The fact that we swept them isn't necessarily indicative of how the afternoon went. We've been on a roll of late, but they certainly scared us a bit in doubles play Sunday."

Western Michigan moved to 8-2 with the win and have swept four straight matches. Senior No. 3 starter Rattiya Hiranrat, who hails all the way from Taiwan, reached a milestone, winning her one-hundredth career doubles match.

"It was a pretty good weekend for us," Bronson said. "Getting our first conference win was important. Especially missing one of our starters, that was a big boost of confidence for us." Marquette stands at 3-8 (1-1 Big East).

Bronson also stressed the importance of winning a doubles point against the Bearcats, which Marquette hadn't done since Feb. 4. The Golden Eagles capitalized on the opportunity to gain a victory against an easy opponent. The 0-9 Bearcats are one of the weakest teams Marquette will face this season. Six of their nine players are freshmen and sophomores.

"It's been frustrating," said Cincinnati head coach Kimberly Jones. "We played some close matches against Marquette, though. That will help our girls looking down the road."

MU now has the luxury of a nine-game home stand, starting Friday and lasting until April 2. They'll face Ohio State Friday at 3 p.m. Friday at Helfaer Tennis Stadium.