Head coach James Gleghorn enjoyed a victorious debut, leading the Valparaiso University tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Huntington (Ind.) at the Valpo Tennis Complex on Saturday in his first match at the helm of the Beacons. The hosts rallied after dropping the doubles point by taking four of the six singles matches.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo lost on the top two doubles courts, but the No. 3 tandem of junior Andrea Delgado (Richmond, Texas / Foster [Dallas Baptist]) and freshman Cathy Beckmann (Indianapolis, Ind. / Bishop Chatard) enjoyed a 6-1 triumph over Rogel Castro/Beck at No. 3.
• Beckmann won in both singles and doubles in her first collegiate match, as she was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Abigail Beck at No. 6 in the first singles match to finish.
• The bottom of the lineup took care of business as Delgado was the second singles player to finish, dropping only one game in each set in a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Carolina Rogel Castro.
• Starting her junior season in the top spot in the Valpo singles lineup, Lacey Tanner (Fort Pierce, Fla. / Florida Virtual School) picked up a straight-set win over Tiziana Rizzato, 6-3, 6-2.
• Valpo clinched the team victory when junior Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) won by retirement at No. 3. She defeated Ashley Bucar 6-4 in the opening set and held a 4-2 lead in the second when Bucar retired.
• Huntington eked out victories on third-set breakers at No. 2 and No. 5.  

Inside the Match

• Valpo picked up where it left off last season in terms of tightly-contested matches. Last season, the Beacons played eight matches decided by 4-3 scores and split those matches with a 4-4 record.
• Tanner picked up the 21^st singles win of her career, while Steven upped her total to 13.
• Delgado improved to 19-6 in singles in her Valpo career.
• Beckmann won in both singles and doubles in her first collegiate match.

Thoughts from Head Coach James Gleghorn
"We have talked a lot this season about the 'ring the bell' mentality and that we are going to have to scrap and hustle to get four points each match. Today we did just enough to get the win. We will get better."
 
"We didn't play well in the doubles at one and two and that was a tough way to start the match. Getting down 1-0 to start is not the way we want to play. I need to do a better job of having them ready in the doubles. That's on me."
 
"In singles, we battled well up and down the line. We were down in several places and came back to win sets and then the match. Lacey and Brynn did a great job recovering from slow starts in singles. Brynn was down 4-1 in the first and really turned it around with a more patient style of play."
 
"The stars today were Cathy and Andrea! They won their doubles match at three doubles and then both won their singles matches in straight sets.  I'm extremely proud of how Cathy played in her first college match. Cathy really came into her freshman year ready to play."
 
Up Next
The Beacons (1-0) will play in the Redbird Hidden Duals beginning on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Normal, Ill.