River Falls, Wis. — Resilience was the word of the day for the UW-Stout women's tennis team.
The Blue Devils battled through early deficits and pressure-filled moments to defeat UW-River Falls, 5-2, Wednesday evening, earning their first WIAC victory since 2023. The Falcons were first off the court with a 6-1 win at No. 1 doubles, but Stout quickly responded at No. 3, where Maggie Hunter and Lindsay Leuzinger cruised to a 6-2 victory. That set the table for Molly Garber and Joelle Smith at No. 2 doubles. After falling behind early, the Blue Devil duo took control and fought back for a 6-3 victory, giving Stout a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
The Falcons evened the match with a win at No. 2 singles before the teams traded straight-set victories at Nos. 4 and 5. Joelle Smith put Stout back in front with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4, while River Falls answered at No. 5. Prajna Hosamane then turned in perhaps her most impressive performance of the season at No. 3 singles, outlasting Mykela Hanson, 7-5, 6-4, to give the Blue Devils a 3-2 lead heading into the business end of the night.
Freshman Braenna Stampf then delivered the clinching point at No. 6 singles, continuing her remarkable start to WIAC play. Despite trailing 3-0 in all three sets, Stampf remained patient, coming back to defeat Jaimey Jessen Olson, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. The victory moves Stampf to 3-0 in WIAC play at No. 6 singles, following last week's decisive 6-0, 6-1 win against UW-Stevens Point and a three-set victory over UW-Whitewater. The Whitewater win marked the Blue Devils' first individual flight victory against the Warhawks since Ellie Becker '25 won in 2021. Stampf's patient style and resilience have already produced several clutch wins early in her Blue Devil career, and Wednesday's deciding victory was the biggest yet.
With the team victory secured, Molly Garber closed out the night with another gutsy performance at No. 1 singles. Garber battled Brooke Lindeman for two hours and 58 minutes before emerging with a 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (17-15) victory. Garber saved 12 match points along the way, eventually winning the third-set tiebreaker 17-15 to put an exclamation point on Stout's 5-2 victory. The Blue Devils' first WIAC win since 2023 was a complete team effort, with Stout responding to adversity throughout the lineup and refusing to let early deficits determine the outcome.
UW-Stout 5, UW-River Falls 2
