The Peacock tennis team dominated another pair of Northern Sun Conference duals over the weekend taking care of St. Cloud State University on Saturday and the University of Minnesota Duluth on Sunday.  Upper Iowa swept the Huskies by a 9-0 count before grabbing all but one match on Sunday against the Bulldogs to win 8-1.  UIU is now 8-3 overall and 6-0 in the NSIC, while SCSU and UMD each dropped to 3-2 in the conference.

The 9-0 victory over St. Cloud State on Saturday marked the fifth straight shutout against an NSIC opponent.  Upper Iowa controlled the doubles matches at #1 and #3 with 8-2 victories.  Yamit Vodavoz and Victoria Kulbokas combined at #2 doubles and outlasted their opponents for an 8-6 victory.  Kulbokas had to work through a tough fight at #5 singles to win 6-4, 6-3, while Kelly Jachymowski powered through at #6 singles for a 6-4, 6-2 win.

After 45 straight match wins over the first five duals in the Northern Sun, the Bulldogs broke through with a victory in doubles and nearly stole a second match.  UMD earned a 9-8 (7-4) decision at #3 doubles, but Upper Iowa edged their opponents at #2 doubles and picked up an 8-0 shutout at #1 behind the play of Iris Verweij and Saki Kawabata. The Peacocks earned all six victories in singles in straight sets allowing four game wins for UMD in only two sets. 

"This was a challenging weekend," said Head Coach Joey J. Barnes.  "We played well, but there are some things we need to work on.  All in all, I am very proud of our team and how we are working through our demons.  We are looking forward to our time together over spring break as we stay home to workout this year.  The time together will give us the opportunity to explore new avenues in our development."

Following spring break, Upper Iowa will return to the courts for a Mar. 20 match up with Winona State University in Winona, Minn. 

Upper Iowa 9, St. Cloud State University 0

Doubles competition
1. Kawabata, Saki/Verweij, Iris (UIU) def. Kantor, Abigail/Portz, Alexie (SCSUW) 8-2
2. Vodavoz, Yamit/Kulbokas, Victoria (UIU) def. O'Brien, El/Roque Diversi, M. (SCSUW) 8-6
3. Jachymowski, Kelly/Okolot, Anna (UIU) def. Wynkoop, Miranda/Makela, Lauren (SCSUW) 8-2

Singles competition
1. Verweij, Iris (UIU) def. O'Brien, El (SCSUW) 6-2, 6-1
2. Kawabata, Saki (UIU) def. Kantor, Abigail (SCSUW) 6-0, 6-1
3. Vodavoz, Yamit (UIU) def. Roque Diversi, M. (SCSUW) 6-2, 6-2
4. Okolot, Anna (UIU)def. Voelker, Jamie (SCSUW) 6-1, 6-1
5. Kulbokas, Victoria (UIU) def. Portz, Alexie (SCSUW) 6-4, 6-3
6. Jachymowski, Kelly (UIU) def. Matson, Jordee (SCSUW) 6-4, 6-2
 
Upper Iowa 8, Minnesota Duluth 1

Doubles competition
1. Kawabata, Saki/Verweij, Iris (UIU) def. Brunelli, Alyssa//Saemann, Kara (UMD) 8-0
2. Vodavoz, Yamit/Kulbokas, Victoria (UIU) def. DeCorsey, Drew/Benkofske, Shelby (UMD) 9-7
3. Baasch, Katie/Zetah, Kelsey (UMD) def. Jachymowski, Kelly/Okolot, Anna (UIU) 9-8 (7-4)

Singles competition
1. Verweij, Iris (UIU) def. Brunelli, Alyssa (UMD) 6-0, 6-0
2. Kawabata, Saki (UIU) def. Saemann, Kara (UMD) 6-2, 6-2
3. Vodavoz, Yamit (UIU) def. Benkofske, Shelby (UMD) 6-0, 6-3
4. Okolot, Anna (UIU) def. DeCorsey, Drew (UMD) 6-1, 6-4
5. Kulbokas, Victoria (UIU) def. Wohnoutka, Kaitlin (UMD) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jachymowski, Kelly (UIU) def. Klasen, Jillian (UMD) 6-2, 6-4