GULF SHORES, Ala. - The Spring Hill College Sandy Badgers suffered their first loss of the 2019 season Friday during the opening day of the March to May Tournament at The Hangout in Gulf Shores, but Spring Hill recovered in its second match to earn a split on the day.
 

Spring Hill (8-1) fell to New Orleans, 4-1, but rebounded to knock off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by an identical 4-1 score.

The Sandy Badgers had previously beaten New Orleans, 4-1, earlier this month, but this time it was the Privateers who walked away with the win in the tournament's opening match.

"Credit to UNO for coming out prepared and ready to play," said Spring Hill head coach Shawn Taylor. "I thought we struggled to execute things tactically. Those things have played a large role in our success the previous two weekends. Emily Greim and Sarah Senft were our only pair to walk away with the victory and I felt like out of all our teams, they were a little more aggressive than the rest." 

Spring Hill's lone victory came at No. 4, where Senft and Greim teamed to earn a 21-17, 21-16 victory over Rhyan Rand and Madison Miller. In the other matches, Veronica Corcoran and Rachel Kuhn of New Orleans beat Payton Gidneyand Kassandra Fairly, 21-19, 21-12 at No. 1, Blessing Dunn and Brianna Vega from New Orleansgot past Brittany Bilotti and Taylor Hurst, 21-10, 22-20 in the No. 2 match, Victoria Corcoran and Ally Carr won the No. 3 match 21-19, 23-21 over Caroline Herrera and Allison Weimer and at No. 5, Maxine Walsh and Alexa Spartz edged out Emmarose Neibert and Emily Sullivan, 21-13, 16-21, 15-9.

Taylor said his team showed significant improvement against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and the end result was a win for the Sandy Badgers.

"We debriefed following the loss to UNO as we always do and identified the specific areas we needed to be better in," said Taylor. "Against Corpus Christi, I thought we did a great job of executing and playing our style. Corpus Christi is a much-improved program and while the end result was a 4-1 win, we had to work hard to pull out the victory. I thought Gid (Payton Gidney) and Kassandra (Fairly) played lights out. After struggling a bit over their last few matches, it was great to see them playing at a high standard." 

Gidney and Fairly earned a 21-15, 21-18 win over Selina Marolf and Abby DeVido, 21-15, 21-18 at No. 1, Bilotti and Hurst got by Rachel Young and Madison Green, 21-16, 21-16 at No. 2, Herrera and Weimer edged Emma Coudon and Lael Ceriani, 23-21, 23-21 at No. 3 and Senft and Greim pulled out a 21-12, 19-21, 21-19 victory over Demi McInnis and Kylie Kvam at No. 4. The Islanders' lone point came at No. 5, where Brooke Adkisson and Sam Dumity eked out a 21-16, 25-27, 15-8 win over Neibert and Sullivan.

Spring Hill continues play in the tournament on Saturday, facing Southern Mississippi at 7:30 a.m. and Houston Baptist at 10:30 a.m. The Sandy Badgers already have two victories over Southern Miss earlier this season.
 

"The level of competition here is great for us,"said Taylor. "We look forward to taking the courts again. The schedule continues to remain fluid, but we will continue to roll with the changes."

Gulf Shores, Ala.
 

Court 1: Veronica Corcoran/Rachel Kuhn (NO) def. Payton Gidney/Kassandra Fairly (SH): 21-19, 21-12

Court 2: Blessing Dunn/Brianna Vega (NO) def. Brittany Bilotti/Taylor Hurst (SH)  21-10, 22-20

Court 3: Victoria Corcoran/Ally Carr (NO) def. Caroline Herrera/Allison Weimer (SH): 21-19, 23-21

Court 4: Sarah Senft/Emily Greim (SH) def. Rhyan Rand/Madison Miller (NO): 21-17, 21-16

Court 5: Maxine Walsh/Alexa Spartz (NO) def. Emmarose Neibert/Emily Sullivan (SH): 21-13, 16-21, 15-9
 

Court 1: Payton Gidney/Kassandra Fairly (SH) def. Selina Marolf/Abby DeVido (TAMCC): 21-15, 21-18

Court 2: Brittany Bilotti/Taylor Hurst (SH) def. Rachel Young/Madison Green (TAMCC): 21-16, 21-16

Court 3: Caroline Herrera/Allison Weimer (SH) def. Emma Coudon/Lael Ceriani (TAMCC): 23-21, 23-21

Court 4: Sarah Senft/Emily Greim (SH) def. Demi McInnis/Kylie Kvam (TAMCC): 21-12, 19-21, 21-19

Court 5:  Brooke Adkisson/Sam Dumity (TAMCC) def. Emma Rose Neibert/Emily Sullivan (SH): 21-16, 25-27, 15-8