The 11th ranked Barton Community College women's tennis team lost 7-1 Thursday at Emporia State University.
The Hornets took two of the three doubles matches, the Cougars lone win coming at the No. 1 slot as Angelina Gnezdilova and Clara Penido won 6-3 over Emporia State's Karen Santiago and Andrea Santiago.
The duo's bid for a perfect day fell short in singles play, Gnezdilova losing the No. 1 match 6-3, 6-2, to Micaela McSpadden while Penido battled in the No. 2 singles slot against Anastasia Pesic, falling 17-15 in the third set to spoil a comeback after splitting the first two sets of 6-2 scores.
In other doubles results, the No. 2 tandem of Azul Barrios and Malena Hernandez fell in a tough 7-5 loss to Paige Stranghoner and Pesic while the No. 3 duo of Paula Curci and Jacie Roth fell 6-0 to the Hornets McSpadden and Kelsie Burr.
Barrios got some measure of revenge in the No. 4 matchup with Stranhoner, earning Barton's lone singles victory coming back from a 1-6 first set defeat to take the next two on 6-1 and 6-2 scores.
Hernandez had to retire in the second set after trailing K. Santiago 6-2 and 3-0 in the No. 3 slot as Emporia would close out the final two singles matchups as Curci lost 6-1, 7-6, in the No. 5 to A. Santiago while Roth dropped the No. 6 tangle to Caroline Henry 6-2, 6-1.
Needing a break from a tough stretch of six matches over the past two weeks, the Cougars set its sights on a trip to Plano, Texas, April 8-9 competing in the SW Juco Regional.