Marquette’s women’s tennis team took a tough loss from rival Western Michigan on Friday, losing 5-2 after a good start to the match.

Each doubles pair was on their mark but fought close battles. At No. 2, Paola Calderon/Olga Fischer lost 8-5, but the win from No. 1 Rachael Hush/Christina Ruiz came at 9-7 while Gillian Hush/Maggie Wilson forced a tiebreaker at No. 3, ultimately winning 9-8 (7-4).

No. 4 Rachael Hush snagged the second point for Marquette, ousting Western Michigan’s Jill Pastunink, 6-1, 6-2.

The rest of the Golden Eagles fell in a series of challenging sets, resulting in five close losses and five lost points.

Head coach Jody Bronson wasn’t happy with the loss and said pressures on the road have presented a challenge to the women.

“I thought we should have won that match,” she said. “Now we have to understand that when we go on the road, nothing changes from when we’re playing at home.”

At home today, the Golden Eagles brought in two victories from a morning match against Illinois State and an afternoon facing University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Marquette now stands at 7-3 on the season after the 6-1 victory over ISU and 7-0 sweep over Green Bay.

The solid doubles teams won in 8-5 sets across the board against the Redhawks, and only the Ruiz/Hush duo gave up three games against the Phoenix. Otherwise, the victory came quickly for the Golden Eagles.

The lone loss of the morning came from sophomore Calderon in the first position, in a tense battle ending 7-6, 7-5.

“I’ve been struggling the last month, or last few weeks,” she said. “Being at No. 1, it’s even harder to get out of your funk.”

Calderon came back with a vengeance, though, and put all of her energy into a solid win over Green Bay, 6-1, 6-0.

Senior Maggie Wilson said Calderon seemed more relaxed and more composed while she was playing Green Bay. “She’s playing like she knows she can win,” Wilson said. “Sometimes it’s even harder playing a team you feel like you should beat.”

The short match against Green Bay was a morale booster for the Golden Eagles, who have been facing some very difficult competition. Next weekend, the team is on the road again to play Iowa and Iowa State in Iowa City.