The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team was unable to secure a win in their season-opening duals in Moorhead, Minn. The team opened their 2021 season with an NSIC dual against the University of Mary Marauders, falling 7-0 on Saturday, Feb. 20. The Peacocks came out strong and secured a win in their first doubles matchup against their weekend hosts and NSIC foes from Minnesota State University Moorhead, but ultimately dropped the dual by a score of 7-0.
Against University of Mary... Varvara Ogorodnikova pushed her opponent to a third set in the No.1 singles match, but was unable to secure a victory and fell 3-6, 6-2, 3-6.
Jessa Michieli also sent her singles match to a thrid set after opening the No. 3 matchup with a 7-6 victory in the first set, but was unable to carry that momentum into the second and third sets. The Marauders controlled the action in the other four singles matches, winning in straight sets in the other matchups. U-Mary secured the doubles point with three wins, with Micheili and
Alejandra Abella coming closest in a 6-4 defeat.
Saturday Quotables... I am really happy with the team's effort, battling hard in doubles and singles. Unfortunately the results were not in our favor today and we lost a couple of really close matches. The story of the day were deuces (we lost many of them) and unforced errors. We gave too many points away and against a strong team like U-Mary we cannot do that. Overall, I'm happy with the energy and effort we showed for our first match. We just need to shake off the rust and keep improving match after match. I am happy with the effort and fight we showed especially after the lack of practices and the challenges we faced the past two weeks. Experience for U-Mary was a decisive factor against a young team like us. Our Freshman (Varvara, Lina and Jessa) played extremely well."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
Against Minnesota State University Moorhead... the Peacocks claimed a victory in the opening doubles match thanks to a strong performance from the duo of Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani, winning 6-3. The Dragons answered with a pair of 6-1 doubles victories and claimed all of the singles matches en route to a 7-0 win in the NSIC Dual. Ogorodnikova played a highly competitive No. 1 singles match, pushing her opponent but missing victory by a narrow margin in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat. Michieli had another good showing in the No. 3 singles match as she won the opening set 6-3, but could not secure a victory for the Peacocks as she fell in the decisive third set by a score of 6-4.
Sunday Quotables... "Once again I am happy with the energy and fight we brought today. Our No. 1 double picked up a great victory today as they found their rhythm and executed really well. Our freshman Varvara and Jessa both had really close matches once again in singles but Moorhead came out on top. Moorhead played really well today and their experience helped them pull out a victory. We will get stronger as the season goes on and I am excited for what the team can become. We are a young team but the matches we just had will help us grow as a team."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
Up Next... Upper Iowa will continue their stretch of NSIC duals as they are set to face Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston. The Peacocks will travel to Winona, Minn. and are scheduled to battle the Beavers at 3 p.m. on Feb. 27 and the Golden Eagles at 9 a.m. on Feb. 28.
Results...
University of Mary 7, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Tasha Dembo (UM) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova (UIU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
2. Yursa Hegy (UM) def.
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Jamie Stoppler (UM) def.
Jessa Michieli (UIU) 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
4. Kelsey Lajom (UM) def.
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Kali Askvig (UM) def.
Mya Herrmann (UIU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Heidi Jacobson (UM) def.
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Yursa Hegy/Tasha Dembo (UM) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova/
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-1
2. Jamie Stoppler/Kelsey Lajom (UM) def.
Jessa Michieli/
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-4
3. Kali Askvig/Heidi Jacobson (UM) def.
Mya Herrmann/
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-2
Minnesota State University Moorhead 7, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Julia Geske (MSUM) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova (UIU) 6-4, 7-5
2. Lorissa Yuen (MSUM) def.
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Rachel Nguyen (MSUM) def.
Jessa Michieli (UIU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Mikaela Griechen (MSUM) def.
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-1, 6-0
5. Miranda Griechen (MSUM) def.
Mya Herrmann (UIU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Emma Andersen (MSUM) def.
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1.
Varvara Ogorodnikova/
Lina Ziani (UIU) def. Julia Geske/Lorissa Yuen (MSUM) 6-3
2. Mikaela Griechen/Miranda Griechen (UM) def.
Jessa Michieli/
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-1
3. Rachel Nguyen/Emma Andersen (UM) def.
Mya Herrmann/
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-1
