MOBILE, Ala. - With junior Trina Slapeka and sophomore Slavica Milanovic playing through pain and already a player down with a default at No. 6 singles, the 17th seeded Lindsey Wilson College women's tennis team overcame the odds for a 5-4 win against No. 16 seed Martin Methodist (Tenn.) College on Tuesday in the NAIA National Championship at the Mobile Tennis Center.

After defaulting at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles, the Blue Raiders weren't down 2-0 for long as both the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles' teams claimed wins to even the match.

Slapeka, nursing a leg injury, and Milanovic, limited by a sprained wrist, fought through the pain and registered an 8-6 win against Paloma Cortina and Maria Charrys at No.1, while sophomore Laura Vergara and sophomore Rocio Cardo were 8-6 winners at No. 2 against Anastasia Aleshcheva and Jeana Stanford.

Despite losing to Martin Methodist (15-6) 7-2 early in the regular season, the Blue Raiders looked nothing like that losing team in singles' play.

Aleshcheva retired in the first set against Vergara, while Cardo won 6-1, 6-4 against Stanford at No. 4 and Milanovic beat Charrys 7-5, 6-3 at No. 3 to give Lindsey Wilson (14-5) the necessary five wins to take the match and advance to the second round of the national tournament.

Martin Methodist's Mikaela Long topped sophomore Edelmirra Ferri 6-2, 6-1 for its only natural singles' win, while it also picked up a point for Slapeka retiring in the second set with the match already in the hands of the Blue Raiders.