The losses dropped the team's record to 11-12 on the season and ended a five-game winning streak that had put Marquette above .,”

The women's tennis team escaped a chilly Midwest Easter with a weekend trip to Florida but couldn't take advantage of the opportunity to stay hot, falling 5-2 at Stetson University Saturday and 4-3 at Central Florida Sunday.

The losses dropped the team's record to 11-12 on the season and ended a five-game winning streak that had put Marquette above .500 for the first time all year.

Against Stetson, the team dropped the doubles point and took only two of six singles slots, losing at every spot from No. 1 through No. 4. Only junior Maria Calbeto managed to take a set in those four matches, taking a 6-0 lead on Stetson's Anna Leonenko before falling 6-2, 6-4.

Junior Shannon Brown came back to defeat Catherine Canady 2-6, 6-3, 10-3 at No. 5 singles, and freshman Elly Strother beat Samantha Lange 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6. Brown and sophomore Robin Metzler also defeated Canady and Valentina Galbarini at No. 2 doubles for Marquette's only doubles win.

Marquette kept things closer against Central Florida, taking the doubles point on the strength of an 8-6 win at the No. 1 spot by Brown and sophomore Lauren Little and an 8-5 victory at No. 3 by senior Francina Bonnelly and junior Erin Watkins.

But the team stumbled again in singles play, losing four of six to come up short for the match. Little defeated UCF's Elvira Serrot 7-5, 6-1 at No. 1 singles, and Brown beat Megan Hunter 7-5, 7-6 (11-9) at No. 4.

Neither Metzler nor freshman Kylie Moore played Sunday.

With two remaining matches on the season – home dates at the Helfaer Rec Center with DePaul Thursday and Notre Dame Sunday – Marquette will look to bolster its 4-1 conference record as it heads into the Big East Championships.

The tournament begins April 19 in Tampa, Fla.

“