LINCOLN, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary tennis team on Friday and Saturday laid some important groundwork for the spring season.

The Flames had some positive moments during the two-day GPAC Individual Tournament, led by sophomore Iyaanah Pardiwalla. She picked up a pair of victories to reach the semifinals of the B Division singles bracket, where she dropped a hard-fought 8-6 decision to Alana Lopez Pagan of Concordia.

"She showed improved patience and an ability to play some of the bigger points with less nerves,'' CSM Coach Mike Johnson said. "She also played a great opening match versus Hastings.''

Johnson felt encouraged that his team progressed in some key areas.

"We got a lot of great competition experience,'' he said. "We're approaching all of these matches with a mindset of next spring. We're not as afraid to make changes and working towards becoming smarter on the court.''

The doubles highlight came from senior Miranda Swanson and junior Carolyna Truong, who advanced to the B Division semifinals before losing to a team from Concordia, 6-2. They had opened with a 6-3 victory over a team from Morningside.

In other singles play, Johnson said Truong "fought hard'' in her first-round match, dropping an 8-6 decision.

Yana Gupta, Darece Van Auken and Maribel Baltazar also gained valuable experience in the event. The CSM coach was impressed by Gupta's first-round singles loss.

"Although not reflected in the score, Yana played a great match, showed some patience and played within herself,'' he said.

The Flames return to action Oct. 4-5 at the Hastings Invitational.