EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Both Eastern Illinois tennis squads defeated SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday evening as the men and women earned 5-1 victories in singles-only play.

No doubles took place due to time constraints, while the outcome of the match was never in doubt as each Panther team won five of six singles.

The men improved to 2-1 on the season as Jeff Rutherford and Matyas Hilgert each won in straight sets at No. 1 and No. 2 Singles.  

Jamie Firth, who dropped his first set at No. 4 Singles, battled back and won the next two for the match win.  Michael Sperry and Justin Haag each downed their respective Cougar opponent at No. 5 and No. 6 in consecutive frames.  Warren Race picked up the lone Eastern loss at No. 3 action.

The Panther women, meanwhile, earned their first win of the early season to move to 1-1 overall as five individual players also won their matches.  EIU victors included Amanda Dibbs and Shannon Brooks at No. 2 and No. 3 Singles, respectively.  Dibbs won each of her sets with tiebreakers.

Juliana Frey and Merritt Whitley each won in straight sets at No. 4 and 5, while Annie Egan earned a tough three-set affair at No. 6.  Unfortunately Cara Huck lost her match at the top of the lineup, but Kristen Laird countered by winning her exhibition matchup.

The Eastern men return to action next Friday and Sunday, traveling to face Saint Louis and Illinois State, respectively, while the Panther women's squad will also take on the Billikens on Friday.

EIU Men 5, SIUE Men 1 
Sat., Jan. 30 ... Edwardsville YMCA

Singles
1. RUTHERFORD, Jeff (EIUM) def. GONZALEZ, Paulo (SIUE) - 6-1, 6-2
2. HILGERT, Matyas (EIUM) def. CHAMBERLAIN, Mike (SIUE) - 6-2, 6-3
3. YOUNG, Rob (SIUE) def. RACE, Warren (EIUM) - 7-5, 6-2
4. FIRTH, Jamie (EIUM) def. SANCHEZ, Carlos (SIUE) - 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. SPERRY, Michael (EIUM) def. FAULKENBERG, Devan (SIUE) - 6-4, 6-1
6. HAAG, Justin (EIUM) def. KNIPP, Jeremy (SIUE) - 6-2, 6-2 

Doubles
1. RUTHERFORD/HILGERT (EIUM) vs. GONZALEZ/CHAMBERLAIN (SIUE) - no result
2. FIRTH/HAAG (EIUM) vs. KNIPP/WILSON (SIUE) - no result
3. RACE/SPERRY (EIUM) vs. YOUNG/SANCHEZ (SIUE) - no result

EIU Women 5, SIUE Women 1 
Sat., Jan. 30 ... Edwardsville YMCA

Singles
1. CONNORS, Carli (SIUE) def. HUCK, Cara (EIUW) - 6-4, 7-5
2. DIBBS, Amanda (EIUW) def. BOECKMAN, Maggie (SIUE) - 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4)
3. BROOKS, Shannon (EIUW) def. HORNING, Laura (SIUE) - 6-0, 6-2
4. FREY, Juliana (EIUW) def. LAIRD, Kelsey (SIUE) - 6-1, 6-0
5. WHITLEY, Merritt (EIUW) def. MILLER, Amanda (SIUE) - 6-1, 6-1
6. EGAN, Annie (EIUW) def. WULFERS, Ali (SIUE) - 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

Doubles
1. HUCK/BROOKS (EIUW) vs. CONNORS/BOECKMAN (SIUE) - no result
2. FREY/WHITLEY (EIUW) vs. WULFERS, Ali/NIEBUR, Amanda (SIUE) - no result
3. DIBBS/EGAN (EIUW) vs. LAIRD/HORNING (SIUE) - no result

For more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID