The UW-Eau Claire women’s tennis team picked up its eighth win of the spring season, beating Northwestern College (Minn.) 8-1 in a strong performance on the indoor Olson Courts of the McPhee Center Saturday.

All six Blugolds won every match within the singles competition and lost only the No. 1 match in doubles against the Eagles. Eau Claire shut down Northwestern after the Eagles won five of their last six matches.

Junior Katie Gillman won No. 3 singles at 6-0, 6-0 without dropping a game. She said her preparation for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament and goal of facing No. 1 UW-Whitewater was what gave her the edge against her opponent.

“I really wanted to be aggressive and take my shots and keep moving forward so that I could be more on the offense and utilize the fast surface to my advantage,” Gillman said.

The women’s tennis team has yet to lose a match this spring. With this win, they improved to 16-2 on the season.

Junior Mary Frassetto lost just one game in her singles play, winning 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 5 match. She said she is proud of the strong focus throughout the team.

“I think we’ve all tried to work on still being aggressive and to take smart shots,” Frassetto said. “If you put a lot of effort into your play and feel confident in what you’re doing, it’ll all work out in the end.”

In the doubles competition, Frassetto and junior Madison Rossebo defeated their opponents with a score of 8-2 in the No. 3 match.

Senior Gretchen Bachmeier and sophomore Maddie Johnson also had an 8-2 victory during the No. 2 doubles match.

Rossebo said the home court advantage was beneficial to the team, but there were some missed opportunities.

“We were consistent with our game,” she said. “But some of our shots that we can normally hit, we didn’t go for our full potential on those.”

The WIAC tournament for women’s tennis will be hosted by Whitewater Saturday where six-year head coach Tom Gillman said they hope to win against No. 3 UW-La Crosse in the semi-finals.

“La Crosse has been good and it’s been a hard match for us, so we certainly have a lot to accomplish in order to win that match,” he said. “We’re hopeful, but we know we’re really going to have to be ready.”

Katie Gillman said she looks forward to bringing her aggressive play to the WIAC tournament.

“I think I was happiest that I really raised my level of play,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy on Saturday, but it’s definitely doable.”

Coach Gillman said having a game plan is essential going into the conference tournament, but that the girls are definitely reliable.

“Our girls have been very consistent, not only in matches, but in practice,” he said. “It’s just a matter of tweaking things here and there; most of the big things we have going for us.”

If the Blugolds win both the semifinal and final matches on Saturday, they will be automatically qualified to continue on to the NCAA Div. III championships May 20-25 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich.