The No. 2 doubles pairing of Katrina Sacchetti (front) and Casey Ruberto earned one of two points for the Saints in their opening round loss in the NCAA tournament (file photo).
Match results
Wisconsin-Whitewater put an end to St. Scholastica's season with a 5-2 victory in the opening round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
Playing in the Midwest Regional at host Gustavus Adolphus College in St, Peter, Minn., on Thursday afternoon, the Saints hoped to reverse their fortunes from last season's opening round in the NCAAs when they fell to Coe (Iowa) College.
The Saints jumped ahead 2-1 after doubles play with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. Paula Beckermann (Spicer, Minn./New London-Spicer HS) and Katie Motley (Eveleth, Minn./Eveleth-Gilbert HS) took an 8-4 win at 1-doubles while Casey Ruberto (Thunder Bay, Ont./Hammarskjold HS) and Katrina Sacchetti (Virginia, Minn./Virginia Secondary) grabbed the 2-doubles win with an 8-5 score.
The Warhawks rallied in singles action, however, and captured the match with singles wins first at No. 6, then at No. 1 and No. 2, finally icing the Saints with a win at No. 4.
Whitewater moves on to the second round where they will face host, and 15th-ranked, Gustavus Adolphus in a Friday, May 2, match.
Thursday's doubles victory closes out Ruberto's and Sacchetti's year with their sixth consecutive victory while Beckermann and Motley won their fourth in a row. Both tandems won eight of their final 10 outings.
St. Scholastica's season ends with an 18-7 mark after making their second consecutive appearance -- in only their second NCAA season -- in the national tournament.
