San Antonio - The Trinity women's tennis team opened its spring season with an 9-0 loss to St. Mary's University of San Antonio in an inter-divisional match on Thursday.

Trinity is ranked 33rd in the NCAA Division III, while St. Mary's holds a No. 11 ranking in DII. The Rattlers evened their record to 1-1 after the win.

"I think the effort was terrific," said Head Coach Gretchen Rush. "We had a strong effort, and we tried really hard. I just think we were overpowered. Their team is more experienced, and they have bigger weapons than we do. But, I think it's a good start. We have a long way to go. We are going to Walla Walla (Washington) on Thursday, and we will play people more our division and our speed, and I think that will be a true test. This was a great way to get the juices flowing."

One of the best matches of the day occurred at No. 1 singles, as Tiger first-year player Caroline Kutach had a battle with Jamie Lee Denton. Kutach won the first set 6-3, and Denton took the second 6-3. Since the dual match had been clinched, the top singles event went into a tiebreaker, with Denton prevailing 10-3. Denton is ranked 19th in DII singles.

The Tigers No. 1 doubles team of Liza Southwick and Marie Lutz, ranked eighth nationally, lost 5-8 to Denton and Kaylin Kruseman. Both the Tiger duo and Rattlers tandem, ranked sixth in DII, competed in last October's National Small College Championships at Sumter, South Carolina.

Blaire Porter and Andrea De Leon played No. 2 doubles for the Tigers, and Kutach and Cheyenne Duncan were the No. 3 team. Lutz had the slot in No. 2 singles, Gabrielle Roe played the No. 3 position, and De Leon was on the fourth line. Rounding out the singles lineup were Porter and Duncan.

The Tigers head to Walla Walla, Washington, in a week for four matches with nationally ranked DIII teams. First up, on Friday, February 12, will be a match with the host Whitman College, ranked 22nd. Later in the day, Trinity meets No. 29 Lewis & Clark (OR) College. On February 13, the Tigers play 35th-ranked Linfield (OR) College, and finish their road trip February 14 with the No. 18 University of Redlands (CA).

Trinity returns home to Saturday, February 20, to host Tyler Junior College, ranked No. 2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Tigers will then host Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Texas Lutheran University in an afternoon match.