PASADENA, Calif. — The No. 20 Caltech women's tennis team topped the Washington University (Mo.) Bears on Monday in a close and competitive 5-4 contest. With the victory, the Beavers have now won four straight matches — all versus nationally-ranked opponents.

The day started with doubles action, where Caltech grabbed victories in two of the three matchups. Sophomore Anika Arora and junior Emily Zhang cruised to an 8-3 win on Court 1, while sophomore Yoyo Benchetrit and senior Nina Solovyeva recorded the same score in a victory of their own on Court 2.

The Beavers would soon lose their 2-1 lead, however, as the No. 17 Bears picked up a quick win in fifth singles and another in sixth singles.

A commanding performance from Benchetrit on Court 2 would tie the overall score at 3-3, as the Toronto native made quick work of her opponent, 6-3, 6-2.

The intensity began to rise on Courts 1, 3, and 4, as all three matches went to a third set. The first match to complete was Court 4, which went to WashU, giving the Bears the 4-3 lead — one win away from team victory.

With the match on the line, Arora (second singles) and Zhang (first singles) showed their strength in their final sets after both players dropped close sets earlier in their matches. Arora was the first to finish as she put up a massive 6-2 performance in the final set after going 6-4, 5-7 in sets one and two.

With the score tied at 4-4 and just one match remaining, all fans converged on Court 1 to watch both team's best players battle it out. Ultimately, it was Zhang who had the endurance to last the full match, defeating WashU's No. 1 by a final score of 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-1.

Head coach Benay Weintraub was very pleased with how her team performed, both in Monday's match and in the previous few contests.

"Four incredible team wins feels really good," said Weintraub. "The winning is awesome, but what I'm most proud of is the team's focus and determination. They have stepped up in so many ways and it translates to our team success. Caltech student-athlete's are the model of what a Division III student-athlete is all about."

The win was all the more impressive considering the players are currently prepping for final examinations.

"We are in finals mode, so their ability to balance and compartmentalize is inspirational," said Weintraub. "We'll let this win soak in a little bit longer before diving back into finals."

After exams, the team will focus on Whitman College, who the Beavers will face in another home competition. The two teams will clash this Saturday, Mar. 18, with play beginning at 2 p.m. All doubles and first through fourth singles will be streamed live on Track.Tennis.