Saint Vincent College - Home of the Bearcats

9/1 - Westminster

The Lady Bearcat tennis team provided the college with its first-ever Presidents' Athletic Conference win, a 9-0 tally over host Westminster College.

Coach Jim Bendel's squad won all six singles matches and all three doubles events.

Meghan Wells, a freshman playing in the #1 singles position, recorded her first career collegiate win. Other singles winners were Lori Orthen, Kim Meier, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Nord and Ashley Ogline.

Doubles winners were the teams of Wells/Orthen, Marilyn Miller/Rendulic and Allie Botti and Carri Meiler.

9/2 - Mercyhurst

The Lady Bearcats lost to a tough Mercyhurst team by a score of 6-3 in a match held at the Racquet Club in Monroeville due to rain.

Lori Orthen was a double winner on the day, recording a victory in singles followed by a tough 8-4 doubles win, paired by Meghan Wells in the #1 doubles position. Orthen's singles win went three sets, including a tie-breaker in the third set.

Ashley Nord was SVC's other singles winner, also needing three sets to earn the victory.

9/9 - Saint Francis

Coach Jim Bendel's Lady Bearcats recorded an upset victory on the road over NCAA Division I Saint Francis University, on the road in Loretto, PA.

The final score was 5-2 under the NCAA D1 scoring format, which credits one point overall for the outcome of three doubles matches. Under the 9-point scoring method, the score would have been 6-3 Saint Vincent.

Doubles wins were recorded by the teams of Lori Orthen and Meghan Wells, and the combination of Carri Meiler and Kim Meier.

The Lady Bearcats won four of six singles matches, with Orthen, Meier, Ashley Nord and Ashley Ogline scoring strong victories.

9/10 - Clarion

The Lady Bearcats defeated Clarion University by a score of 5-4 at their "new" home venue -- the rejuvenated campus tennis courts.

Playing a home match outdoors for the first time since the program's return a few years ago, Saint Vincent won a close, hard fought match that gives the team a 3-1 record on the year.

Singles victories were recorded by Ashley Nord, Ashley Ogline and Kim Meier. In doubles, the teams of Sarah Rendulic/Allison Botti and Lori Orthen/Meghan Wells were winners. Orthen and Wells trailed 6-3 in their match before coming from behind to win 8-6, a comeback that proved critical in the day's final outcome.

9/16 - Allegheny/Case Western

The SVC Lady Bearcats captured first place in the Nancy J. Heath Gator Invitational, held at Allegheny College.

SVC began the day with a 6-3 victory over Case Western, then defeated host Allegheny in the championship by a score of 7-2.

Against Case Western, singles victories went to Meghan Wells, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Nord and Ashley Ogline. Marilyn Miller and Kim Meier paired for a doubles win, as did Rendulic and Allison Botti.

In the championship match, SVC recorded five singles wins: Wells, Rendulic and Ogline, repeat singles winners on the day, were joined by Meier and Lori Orthen. In doubles, Miller and Meier kept their record perfect on the day, and the team of Wells/Orthen also scored a win.

9/17 - Penn State-Altoona

The Lady Bearcats improved to 6-1 on the season with a sweep of Penn State-Altoona at home.

Singles winners were Meghan Wells, Lori Orthen, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Ogline, Ashley Nord and Allie Botti.

Doubles winners were the teams of Wells & Orthen, Marilyn Miller and Kim Meier, and Kristen Blahovec and Krista Long.

9/19 - Bethany

Coach Jim Bendel's Lady Bearcats scored their second consecutive sweep, downing Bethany College by a 9-0 score at home.

Doubles winners were the teams of Meghan Wells & Lori Orthen, Kim Meier & Carri Meiler, and Brittany Vignero & Aliesha Pocratsky.

Singles wins were posted by Wells, Meier, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Ogline, Meiler and Allie Botti.

9/21 - Cal U of PA

The Lady Bearcats lost their second match of the year, to the undefeated Lady Vulcans of California University of PA. The final score was 8-1.

Allie Botti picked up the lone SVC win, scoring a 6-4, 1-6 (10-6) decision in the #6 singles position. SVC's Sarah Rendulic and Ashley Ogline were close in their #3 doubles match, ultimately falling 8-5.

10/3 - Waynesburg

The Lady Bearcats came back from a long layoff by shutting out Waynesburg 9-0.

Singles winners for coach Jim Bendel's SVC squad included Meghan Wells, Lori Orthen, Kim Meier, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Ogline, and Allison Botti.

The three doubles teams, consisting of Wells and Orthen, Rendulic and Meier, and Ogline and Botti, were all victorious as well.

10/6 - Penn State-Altoona

The Lady Bearcats improved to 9-2 on the season with a victory over Penn State-Altoona on the road.

SVC won the match by a score of 8-1, losing just one doubles match.

Singles winners were Meghan Wells, Lori Orthen, Kim Meier, Sarah Rendulic, Ashley Ogline and Allie Botti. Doubles winners were the teams of Wells & Orthen, and Brittany Vignero & Kristin Blahovec.

10/10 - West Liberty State

While SVC dropped a 6-3 decision to the visitors, the doubles tandem of Lori Orthen and Marilyn Miller picked up an 8-5 victory in their match.

At first, the win may not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. However, a few factors made this win a significant one.

For starters, it was the first time that Miller and Orthen have ever teamed up for doubles action in their collegiate careers.

Secondly, Miller was forced to play on the opposite side of where she is used to playing in doubles competition.

And one more factor that could be considered both remarkable and unusual is the age of the two Saint Vincent College student-athletes, as Orthen is 44 and Miller 49 years old.

"We had to play true doubles tennis out there," Orthen said.

As if adjusting to a new partner wasn't enough for the two, they were also forced to play in the limelight, as a number of different photographers from local newspapers and television stations were on hand to view the match.

"I just tried to pull my visor down, stare straight ahead, ignore the cameras, and just focus," said Orthen.

Miller, however, felt a bit more uneasy about being in the center of attention, saying that it proved difficult playing in front of the cameras.

While it was the first victory shared by Miller and Orthen in doubles play, the two have actually had a great deal of success for the Lady Bearcats this fall.

In doubles action, Orthen, who was previously teamed with Meghan Wells, is now 9-2 on the season. Individually, she is 6-4. Miller, who has played doubles alongside teammates Sarah Rendulic and Kim Meier, has a record of 6-2.

The two other victories for the Lady Bearcats came on the singles side, with Wells and Allison Botti picking up wins.

10/16 - Grove City

The Lady Bearcats ended their fall season with a 9-4 record after falling to Grove City College. The final score was 9-0.

"The match was much closer than the score indicates," said Coach Jim Bendel. "Every match was well-played and we did have opportunities to win."

However, Grove City, the perennial PAC team champion, prevailed, winning all six singles and three doubles matches.

"It was a much-improved Saint Vincent team this year," said Bendel. We've had a great season. We may have lost today, but in this case the score does not reflect the competitiveness of our team."

Fall 2006 Match Recaps