The Spartans improved to 1-1 with a 5-4 victory over the visiting Bulldogs. The top doubles' pairing of juniors Kara Gilley (Plymouth, Ind.) and Brandy Leeper (Bremen, Ind.) took an 8-1 win, while the number two squad of junior Ashley McClintic (Wakarusa, Ind.) and senior Alli Heeter (Nappanee, Ind.) dispatched their opponents 8-4. Those two victories, coupled with singles wins for Leeper (No. 2), Heeter (No. 4) and junior Abby Berry (Huntington, Ind.) proved to be the difference.

Coach Eric Christiansen's men's team also opened the fall portion of its 2012-13 campaign. Adrian took an 8-1 victory over the Black and Gold.

Junior Bobby Swaby (Farmersburg, Ind.) picked up where he left off last spring. He held off a strong charge from Adrian's Ryan Delacey to win a 10-6 tiebreaker that settled their battle at number two singles.

Manchester's women return to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a critical early-season clash with Transylvania College of Kentucky Saturday, Sept. 15. Dual time is 10 a.m. at the Manchester University courts. The men's squad continues its fall slate with a trip to St. Francis University Sept. 27.