Worcester, Mass. – Host Clark opened up its 2011 season with an 8-1 defeat at the hands of NEWMAC rival Wheaton on Saturday afternoon in women's tennis action at the Corash Tennis Courts.
The visiting Lyons were playing in their third match of the season, while the Cougars had their originally scheduled season opener with Simmons postponed because of weather on Thursday.
Clark actually won at No. 1 singles behind Gaby Suriano (San Salvador, El Salvador) and Sarah Sachs (Branford, Conn.), 8-5.
From there, however, it was all Wheaton, as the combinations of Allessandra DiOrio and Sarah Crom at No. 2 doubles and Morgan Bell and Julia Parmakian at No. 3 doubles defeated Julia Bergeron and Virginia Cooke (8-4) and Holly DiMichele and Martha Ziemer (8-2).
The Lyons also controlled the singles action with DiOrio at No. 3, Morgan Bell at No. 4 and Jesse Boggis at No. 6 all won in 6-0, 6-0 straight sets.
The best matchup came at No. 1 singles where Suriano and Cooke were locked in a three-set thriller. Suriano won the first set, 6-3, before Cooke answered with a 6-4 win in the second. Set three was a super tiebreaker that eventually went Cooke, 10-5.
Clark will return to the courts on Tuesday when they visit Emmanuel College at 3:30 p.m.
