Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania women's tennis team seized a crucial conference victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers, 7-2 at Top Seed Tennis Club.

In a matchup of two of the best teams in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Pioneers rode a 3-0 start in doubles play to earn the win, moving to 2-0 in HCAC play and 4-1 on the 2020-21 season. The Engineers suffered their first defeat of the conference schedule to fall to 2-1 in the HCAC and 2-2 overall.

Porsche Robinson and Jessica Burton earned an 8-3 win over Taylor Goldman and Breanna Rogers in No. 1 doubles for the first point of the day for the Pioneers. Alyssa Igyarto and Grace Gardner took care of business with an 8-4 win in No. 2 doubles, and Christina Duvall and Erin Biddle did the same at the No. 3 slot, winning 8-4 to boost the Pioneers to a 3-0 advantage heading into singles play.

Robinson went back and forth with the Engineers' Fanny-Jane Banda in the No. 1 singles match, falling 4-6 in set one before returning a 7-5 win in set two. The Transylvania junior finished off the win with a thrilling 12-10 tiebreaker win to decide the third set.

Burton came up on the short end of a nearly identical score to Robinson in No. 2 singles, falling 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (9-11). But the Pioneers found their fair share of wins in singles play as Grace Gardner won 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 over Rogers at No. 3 singles, and Alyssa Igyarto delivered another three-set win at No. 4 doubles, gaining a pair of 6-0 win in sets one and three. Christina Duvall helped the Pioneers cross the finish line with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles.

The surging Pioneers next face the Franklin College Grizzlies tomorrow, Sunday, April 18 at home at Top Seed Tennis Club. The conference match is scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. start.

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