HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – It took much longer than expected, but in the end, the extra hours the College of Saint Mary tennis team put in to get a victory on Thursday were well worth it.

The Flames defeated Illinois Tech 5-2 at Chaplin Park to even their season record at 1-1.

"For a match that was originally scheduled at 12:30 p.m., rain delays took matches well into the night, with Iyaanah winning the last match on court after 10 p.m.!'' CSM Coach Mike Johnson said. "We had some great playing from every position today.''

CSM won four of the five contested singles matches, as both schools were open at No. 6. At No. 1, Iyaanah Pardiwalla of CSM defeated Martyna Kalinowska 6-1, 6-1. At No. 2 singles, Yana Gupta of CSM beat Hannah Markiewicz 6-0, 7-6 (1). At No. 3, Carolyna Truong of CSM handled Paige Geiger 6-1, 6-2. At No. 4, Ashley Dame of Illinois Tech downed Miranda Swanson 6-2, 6-3. And at No. 5, Darece Van Auken of CSM outlasted Angelica Conwell 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6).

"It was a great comeback win for Darece at No. 5,'' Johnson said. "Truong outplayed her opponent at No. 4.''

At No. 1 doubles, Markiewicz/Kalinowska beat Pardiwalla/Gupta, 6-3. And at No. 2 doubles, Truong/Swanson defeated Geiger/Conwell, 6-3.

CSM will close its play in South Carolina on Friday with a 10 a.m. match against Nazareth (N.Y.) University that has been moved to Hilton Head High School.

"We're looking forward to that match,'' Johnson said.