CLAREMONT, Calif. - It took nine matches to decide Friday's neutral-site women's tennis match, and that ninth match went Whitman College's way as Cello Lockwood overcame an opening set loss to rally for the win and lift the 25th-ranked Missionaries to a 5-4 victory over Vassar (N.Y.) College at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center on the campus of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.

The win elevates Whitman's record to 9-6 while the Brewers slip to an even 6-6.

Lockwood, taking on Vassar's Morgan Fitzgerald at No. 4 singles, never got going in her 6-0 opening-set loss, but with the match on the line Lockwood crept back into her match with a 6-4 win in the second.

The Missionaries had scratched out a 4-3 lead with two positions still on the courts but the Brewers picked up the equalizing point at 1-singles to put the pressure on Lockwood and Fitzgerald.

The pair dealt with the pressure of a match-deciding third set, battling back and fourth until tied at 5-5. Finally it was Lockwood who first picked up a game to go up 6-5 then added the match-clinching game for a 7-5 win.

The Whitties recorded the first point of the morning, taking 1-doubles behind an 8-4 win by Hanna Greenberg and Mary Hill. Vassar not only responded with wins at the two other doubles spots, but began singles action with a win at No. 5 to move ahead 3-1 in the match.

Three consecutive points for Whitman answered the Brewers' three-point streak, however. First Allie Wallin took a straight-set win at No. 3, followed by a two-set win from Lori Sheng at No. 6. Hill completed the string with a three-setter at 2-singles, setting up the thrilling finish.

Head coach was as complimentary of Vassar's efforts as he was of his own players. "(Vassar) really brought it today and fought for everything," he explained. "But I was so proud of how we came back from a little adversity to finish things off.

"Lori (Sheng) stepped up for us at 6, winning in that second-set tiebreaker. And then Cello's win was obviously huge. She bounced back by playing smart tennis, pounding out some big shots, and playing with a lot of heart," Hein added.

Hein's charges have earned a well-deserved rest day Saturday after closing out a three-day stretch of matches that saw the team take on two ranked teams and register a 2-1 record during that span. Sunday brings the Missionaries' final match of their spring break trip to Claremont, pitting Whitman against No. 14 University of Chicago in a 10 a.m. match at the Biszantz Tennis Center.