LA HABRA, Calif. --- Getting a win in Golden State Athletic Conference play is never an easy task, especially in women's tennis. So, Biola will thoroughly enjoy its 8-1 victory over Hope International Royals in its second GSAC match of the new year.
 
"The women were amazing, and they did a great job of keeping calm," said Head Coach Dee Henry.
 
The Eagles earned wins in all three doubles matches before moving on to a singles slate that was all but easy to earn wins in. Biola took five of the six singles matches, but nearly half of them needed more than just two standard sets to get the job done.
 
Kathryn Ashford and Brooke Sanford won their doubles match handily (8-1), but each of the other two matches allowed no room for lapses of concentration from start to finish as the Eagles' No. 1 and No. 3 pairings worked victories by the minimum of two games.
 
Ashford, Kelsey Post , Sanford and Taliah Hightower all earned straight-set victories in singles, while Madeline Heer each won thrilling matches by way of tiebreaker.
 
Heer was given all she could handle at No. 1 singles as she battled back-and-forth with HIU's Sabrina Miller. Heer won the first set 6-3, but had a challenging go of it in a 6-2 set loss. She had to regain her composure real quick, and did, in order to win the tiebreaker 10-7.
 
Sanford would win her match in straight-sets, but the sophomore needed to play a tiebreaker in order to take her second set 7-5. She won the 10-point tiebreaker with a gritty 7-3 performance.
 
The Eagles are now 4-0 in their last four meetings with Hope International. The last time HIU managed a victory against Henry's squad was Feb. 25, 2014 (6-3).
 
Biola improves to 2-3 (1-1 GSAC) with the victory, while the Royals skid to 1-4 (0-2 GSAC). The Eagles are back at home on Friday for a home match against Holy Names at 1:30 p.m.
 
BOX SCORE:
1. Madeline Heer/Kelsey Post def. Sabrina Miller/Haley Robles – 8-6
2. Kathryn Ashford/Brooke Sanford def. Jessica Cornea/Celeste Chavez – 8-1
3. Katie Boesl/Bailey McGeough def. Jazmin Hilbert/Chelsea Bollinger – 9-7
1. Madeline Heer def. Sabrina Miller – 6-3; 2-6 (10-7)
2. Kathryn Ashford def. Jessica Cornea – 6-4; 6-1
3. Brooke Sanford def. Haley Robles – 6-3; 7-6 (7-3)
4. Kelsey Post def. Chelsea Bollinger – 6-0; 6-2
5. Celeste Chavez def. Katie Boesl – 6-2; 6-2
6. Taliah Hightower def. Jazmin Hilbert – 6-0; 6-2