Valparaiso earned its first victory on the fall season Tuesday afternoon at the Valpo Tennis Complex, defeating Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) 6-1.

The Crusaders came out strong, winning five of the six singles matches to start the day.  Playing singles for the first time this fall, Julie Wingstrom (Dallas Lake, Ind./Westview H.S.) cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Jessica Portney at sixth singles.  Kim Sajevic (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury H.S.) made it 2-0 Valpo moments later as she blanked Jordan Orner 6-0, 6-0 at the top of the lineup.

Freshman Stephanie York (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown H.S.) pulled the Brown and Gold within one point of victory as she collected her first collegiate win 6-3, 6-1 against Angela Burgeson at the fourth spot.  The Pumas cut the lead to 3-1 as Amisha Gohil topped Molly Keifer (Richmond, Ind./Richmond H.S.) 6-1, 7-5 at number two singles, but Valpo won the remaining to matches to secure the victory.

Christine Antrobus (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead H.S.) notched a 6-4, 6-3 win over Samantha Busch at fifth singles and Katie Bilyeu (Terre Haute, Ind./South H.S.) came from behind for her first college victory, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 over Jessica Conlin.

“I thought we came out and worked hard in singles,” head coach Jay Adams said.  “I was especially impressed by the way Katie battled back from a set down.”

With the match decided, the Crusaders added the final point in doubles play.  Bilyeu and York teamed for an 8-3 victory over Erica Bengal and Orner at second doubles while Sajevic and Wingstrom earned an 8-4 win over Busch and Gohil. Jackie O’Reilly (DePere, Wis./DePere H.S.) completed the doubles sweet with their 8-4 triumph over Burgeson and Emily Thieme. Keifer and

Valparaiso will wrap up the fall portion of its schedule October 4-5 at the Mastodon Invitational hosted by IPFW in Fort Wayne, Ind.