You would have never known it by the cheers and hugs and smiles on Catawba’s side.

• For the first time all season, Rachel Key, once a SAC Freshman of the Year, had been defeated by Indian Gina Ayala.
• Freshmen Ayala and Taryn Gordon had given the Hose’s No. 1 doubles team only its second loss of the season.
• Claire Carson picked up a singles win at No. 2 against an opponent who had beaten her six consecutive times.

In other words, how many times has Presbyterian’s No. 1 and 2 players, along with its No. 1 doubles team, fallen on the same day?

Not many, and that’s why the Indians were walking on air afterwards, especially Ayala, the freshman phenom from Coral Springs, Fla.

The aggressive Ayala had complete control of her singles match with Key, running her all over the court with deep baseline shots, then driving winners past Presbyterian’s best player.

“I was playing out of my mind,” Ayala said with a big grin.

Of course, those wins were far from enough against the undefeated Hose, who have won nine of the past 11 SAC championships.

“There’s no question that Presbyterian — on paper — and in terms of stroke for stroke, is better than us,” said Catawba coach Jack Thompson. “But this was very much a moral victory. When you play a team like Presbyterian and it goes to the 11th hour, that’s good.”

The afternoon began with Catawba’s No. 2 doubles team of Liz Taylor and Carson and the No. 3 team of Ashlee Cooke and Karen Malinowski dropping decisions. Then, came the first surprise.

Ayala and Gordon trailed 4-0 at No. 1 when suddenly, they put it all together. The emotional, first-pumping Ayala began screaming winners down the lines.

She and Gordon eventually pulled out a pulsating 8-6 victory.

“We played so well together, it was unbelievable,” Ayala said. “We have more strategy in our game now.”

Thompson noticed one of the Hose players was having difficulty serving.

“What I was most proud of was how they kept pressure on the other team the entire time, especially the girl who was having a little trouble with her serve,” he said. “Presbyterian fully expected to be up 3-0 after doubles.”

The Blue Hose won three quick singles matches for a 5-1 lead that effectively ended the affair. Taylor lost at No. 3, 6-2, 6-2, Gordon fell at No. 4, 6-1, 6-1 and Cooke was defeated 6-0, 6-1. Sixth seed Meredith Davine never got a chance to start.

But Ayala and Carson did. When the match was called, the scorebook had Ayala leading 6-3, 2-0 while Carson led 6-2, 5-2.

“Ifeel an inch taller on these blisters,” joked Carson, a junior.

Thompson doesn’t know if his team will win the third-place showdown today against Carson-Newman, which was scheduled for 10 a.m. But he couldn’t have been prouder with Thursday’s effort.

“The score may not have looked like it was close but we got in a couple of knockout punches,” he said. “It’s just tremendous.”

Ayala could hardly contain herself.

“I’m the happiest person today,” she cooed.