The seventh-seeded Washington University women’s tennis team battled to a fifth-place finish in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Championship Friday through Saturday at DePauw University.

Up against a similar field that forced the first-seeded men’s team to limp to a seventh-place finish a week earlier, the women’s team fell to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 7-2 in the first round before recovering to post a 7-2 win against the third-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the first round of consolation matches and an abbreviated 5-1 over their namesake stepsibling, the fourth-seed Washington and Lee University, for the fifth-place finish.

Against Pomona-Pitzer, the Bears fell into a large hole early when the Sagehens swept doubles play with a trio of close finishes. Junior Rebecca Ho and senior Aly Coran, currently ranked 10th in the nation by the ITA, dropped their second flight doubles match to the No. 15 ranked Pomona-Pitzer pair. The Sagehens took one step closer to a quick victory 6-0, 6-1 with a win over senior Jaime Silverberg. The Bears were able to regain some footing with a pair of straight set victories by Ho and sophomore Grace Deering over ranked players, but Pomona-Pitzer barreled to the easy victory with wins at fourth, fifth and sixth singles, all in straight sets.

The next morning, the Bears were able to flip the script against MIT. The Red and Green swept doubles play, highlighted by a tight 9-8 (7-3) victory by Deering and Silverberg at first doubles while MIT was then able to claw back 4-2 with victories over Ho and Silverberg. Just like Pomona-Pitzer a day earlier, the Bears were able to pull away with straight set victories at fourth through sixth singles.

Against Washington and Lee late Saturday night, the Bears took a 2-1 lead heading into singles. Deering and Silverberg dominated the No. 22 ranked doubles pair to the tune of an 8-2 victory. The Bears would then capture second, fifth and sixth singles in straight sets to secure a fifth place finish in the ITA’s 5-1.

The Bears will get a two-week break before they travel to Southern California for a five-game spring break slate. While there, the Red and Green will get a chance at some revenge when they face No. 7 Pomona-Pitzer on Sunday, March 13.