The Butler women’s tennis team improved to 4-1 in conference play after splitting a pair of matches with Youngstown State and Cleveland State last weekend.

Riding a four-match win streak, Butler (9-7, 4-1 HL) continued its solid play Saturday against the Penguins (5-11, 2-4 HL), winning 5-2.

The day started with a team sweep in doubles play, highlighted by an 8-2 win by senior Gabriela Bobrowski and sophomore Brittany Farmer in the No. 2 spot.

“The key for us was getting off to a good start and being focused,” Bobrowski said. “It was really important to get ahead in doubles play. It’s what we’ve been doing all year.”

Butler’s success continued in the singles matches, where the Bulldogs won all four points.

Farmer cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Youngstown State sophomore Annie Jesko at the No. 6 spot.

“We have a very strong team from top to bottom,” Bobrowski said.

Some younger Bulldogs put Butler’s depth on display.

Freshman Caroline Hedrick picked up the win at No. 2 singles, 6-3, 6-2.

This was followed by victories from a pair of freshmen: Stephanie McLoughlin, 6-2, 6-1, and Gabrielle Rubenstein, 6-2, 7-5.

Cleveland State visited Butler Sunday and so did sunny weather, allowing the Bulldogs to play their first outdoor match of the season.

Bobrowski admitted that playing outdoors affected her play against the Vikings (8-11, 3-1 HL).

“The conditions are completely different outdoors,” Bobrowski said. “You have to play with heat, wind, shadows. It is something we are not used to yet”

For the first time in five matches, the Bulldogs did not win the doubles competition, dropping two of the three doubles points.

Butler went on to lose the match, 6-1.

The lone singles victory for Butler came from Hedrick at the No. 2 spot.

Hedrick defeated Cleveland State freshman Alexandra Bush easily, 6-3, 6-1.

The Bulldogs loss snapped the team’s longest winning streak of the season at five matches.

“The player who is most patient and lasts the longest usually wins,” Bobrowski said. “We just need to work on being more consistent outdoors.”

Butler will close out the season with three conference matches, including a regular season finale against the league-leading UIC Flames (14-3, 6-0 HL).

“UIC has been our biggest rival ever since I’ve been here,” Bobrowski said. “But right now, we are just focusing on one match at a time.”

Right now, we are only concerened with Wright State.”

Butler will host the Wright State Raiders (11-7, 4-1 HL) in a conference match tomorrow on the outdoor courts near the intramural fields.

The Bulldogs are currently tied with Wright State for second place in the Horizon League.