The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team secured their first wins of the season with victories against Luther College and Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) in back-to-back matches in Decorah, Iowa. The Peacocks won their opening match against Luther by a score of 5-2 before claiming a 6-1 win over Saint Ambrose to finish their fall competition schedule with a pair of wins.
RECAP VS. LUTHER... Upper Iowa got off to a strong start to open their day by claiming the first two wins in the best-of-three doubles matches. The UIU duo of
Charalampia Grammatikaki and
Lina Ziani claimed a 6-2 win in No. 2 doubles to open play before the Peacock pairing of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Jessa Michieli clinched the doubles point for Upper Iowa with a 6-1 win in the No. 1 doubles match.
Padmasree Murugan and
Elaina Wall were unable to complete the sweep of the doubles point, but UIU still started the dual with a 1-0 advantage thanks to their two doubles wins.
In singles competition, the Peacocks won the No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 singles matches in straight sets to claim the win in the dual.
Charalampia Grammatikaki picked up a 6-2, 6-2 win in No. 1 singles,
Jessa Michieli won 6-1, 6-2 in No. 2 singles,
Varvara Ogorodnikova shut out her opponent in a 6-0, 6-0 win in No. 3 singles, and
Lina Ziani earned a 6-1, 6-4 win in No. 4 singles. Luther College claimed a pair of wins in No. 5 and 6 singles, but Upper Iowa finished the dual with a 5-2 advantage to secure the victory.
RECAP VS. SAINT AMBROSE... The Peacocks clinched the doubles point in their second match of the day with wins in No. 1 and 2 doubles.
Charalampia Grammatikaki and
Jessa Michieli won their No. 1 singles match by a score of 6-4, while
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani picked up a 6-2 win in No. 2 doubles. UIU was unable to win a competitive No. 3 doubles match but they still claimed a 1-0 lead in the dual.
Upper Iowa played well in singles as they picked up wins in straight sets in the top five singles matches.
Charalampia Grammatikaki won 6-0, 6-1 in No. 1 singles,
Varvara Ogorodnikova earned a tightly-contested 6-3, 7-5 No. 2 singles win,
Jessa Michieli won her No. 3 singles match 6-1, 6-3,
Lina Ziani won 6-2, 6-4 in No. 4 singles, and
Padmasree Murugan claimed a 6-3, 6-4 win in No. 5 singles.
Mya Herrmann played a closely contested match at No. 6 singles but was unable to complete the sweep for UIU as the Peacocks finished the dual with a 6-1 victory.
COACH'S QUOTE... "We picked up two great wins today, and I am happy for this group that we were able to close our fall season in such fashion. In our first match against Luther, we played well in doubles and picked up great wins in our top four in singles. We also had some good matches in No. 5 and 6 singles, but were unable to secure the wins.
Against Saint Ambrose, we started a little slow in doubles and were challenged a little by some of the Saint Ambrose play, but we found ways to secure victories in No. 1 and 2 doubles. In singles, our top five players secured wins, and we only narrowly dropped another tightly-contested match at No. 6. We were challenged in some of these single matches but found ways to adapt and win today.
This is a positive sign moving forward into our spring season, but we will continue to work hard, improve our doubles play, and push each other to better each and every week. We have a tremendous group of young players, and I am looking forward to what we can accomplish in the spring. Go Peacocks!" - Head Coach, Léo Millet
UP NEXT... With their 2021 fall schedule in the books, the Peacocks will open their spring season in 2022 with a pair of NSIC duals against the University of Mary and Minnesota State University Moorhead. UIU will face UMary on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 12:30 p.m. before facing MSU Moorhead on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. Both contests are scheduled to be played in Winona, Minn.
RESULTS...
Upper Iowa 5, Luther 2
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Charalampia [UIU] def. Costa, Bruna [LC] 6-2, 6-2
2. Michieli, Jessa [UIU] def. O'Donnell, Riley [LC] 6-1, 6-2
3. Ogorodnikova, Varvara [UIU] def. Nolan, Kiley [LC] 6-0, 6-0
4. Ziani, Lina [UIU] def. Dunning, Kylie [LC] 6-1, 6-4
5. Dahl, Jessica [LC] def. Murugan, Padmasree [UIU] 6-3, 6-4
6. Van Tol, Luna [LC] def. Wall, Elaina [UIU] 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Ogorodnikova, Varvara / Michieli, Jessa [UIU] def. Costa, Bruna / O'Donnell, Riley [LC] 6-2
2. Grammatikaki, Charalampia / Ziani, Lina [UIU] def. Nolan, Kiley / Dunning, Kylie [LC] 6-1
3. Dahl, Jessica / Magee, Cassie [LC] def. Murugan, Padmasree / Wall, Elaina [UIU] 6-3
Upper Iowa 6, Saint Ambrose (Iowa) 1
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Charalampia [UIU] def. Housenga, Kiersten [SAU] 6-0, 6-1
2. Ogorodnikova, Varvara [UIU] def. Camp, Kaylee [SAU] 6-3, 7-5
3. Michieli, Jessa [UIU] def. Sullivan, Maggie [SAU] 6-1, 6-3
4. Ziani, Lina [UIU] def. Malas, Lily [SAU] 6-2, 6-4
5. Murugan, Padmasree [UIU] def. Jaeger, Kelsey [SAU] 6-3, 6-4
6. Bily, Paige [SAU] def. Herrmann, Mya [UIU] 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Charalampia / Michieli, Jessa [UIU] def. Camp, Kaylee / Sullivan, Maggie [SAU] 6-4
2. Ogorodnikova, Varvara / Ziani, Lina [UIU] def. Housenga, Kiersten / Malas, Lily [SAU] 6-2
3. Jaeger, Kelsey / Bily, Paige [SAU] def. Murugan, Padmasree / Herrmann, Mya [UIU] 6-4
