The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team was bested by the Beavers of Bemidji State University in a competitive 5-2 NSIC Dual on Feb. 27. The Peacocks were able to win one of the the three doubles matches and secured victories in the No. 1 and 2 singles, but were unable to come out victorious in the dual. UIU falls to a 0-3 (0-3 NSIC) record on the season while Bemidji State improves to 3-3 (3-3 NSIC) on the year.
Recap... The Peacock duo of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani fell in the No. 1 doubles match by a score of 6-1 against Bemidji State in the first match of doubles play.
Carolina Abella and
Mya Herrmann kept it close in a hard-fought No. 3 doubles match, but Bemidji State edged them out with a 6-4 victory to secure a 1-0 advantage in the dual. Though the point was already decided, UIU won the No. 2 doubles match thanks to a strong performances from
Jessa Michieli and
Alejandra Abella as the No. 2 doubles duo powered past the Beavers in a 7-5 decision.
The Peacocks dropped the first singles match as
Carolina Abella was forced to retire due to injury, giving the Beavers the victory and a 2-0 lead in the dual. Hermann fell 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 5 singles match, putting Bemidji State within a point of victory as they lead 3-0 in the dual.
Alejandra Abella was narrowly defeated 6-4 in the first set of the No. 4 singles match, and she was unable to make start the UIU comeback as she fell in straight sets and saw the Beavers clinch a victory in the dual. Ziani would kick off a trend of closely contested singles competition, but she was unable to come out on top after competing hard as she fell in straight sets 6-3 and 7-6. Ogorodnikova put the Peacocks back on track and secured a point for UIU as she won a tightly contested No. 1 singles match in straight sets, winning 7-5 and 6-4. Michieli earned another Peacock point following an exciting win in the No. 2 singles match that went to a third set in the final contest of the dual. Michieli won the first set 6-4, but dropped the second set in 7-5 to set up the tiebreak. Things were looking dire after Michieli went down 5-1 in the tiebreaker, but she made an impressive comeback and came out victorious to take the 1-0 (10-8) win in the decisive third set and claim the match. The Peacocks ended the dual with two points following the impressive wins in the No. 1 and 2 singles matches, but Bemidji State claimed the 5-2 victory in the NSIC dual.
Elaina Wall played an exhibition match that did not factor into the dual scoring, falling 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets.
Quotables... "Tough match today against a young talented Bemidji team. We picked up a good victory at double 2 with Jessa and Alejandra and had a really close double 3 match with Carolina and Mya. It came down to a few points but Bemidji was able to win the decisive points.
In singles we picked up two great victories at singles 1 and 2! Varvara and Jessa had some really talented players in front of them, but were able to be a little bit more consistent and win important points by playing aggressive and finishing the points. I am really happy for both of them to pick up their first victories after extremely close matches last week that didn't turn in their favor. We dropped the rest of the singles matches but Lina had a really close match against a solid player. Though result for her but she will rebound and keep improving. Alejandra has a close first set but her opponent was able to take control in the second. Carolina fought through an injury and had to retire in the second set but played hard throughout the match. Mya had a good match also but her opponent was able to dictate the point and win some important points. Elaina was our last player to play in an exhibition match and did well even if the result was not in her favor.
We will keep improving as a team but I am happy with the victories we picked up today and the improvements we have made after our first weekend. We are heading in the right direction, we going to continue working hard, and get better week after week."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
Up Next... The Peacocks will face off against the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston in their second NSIC Dual of the weekend. The matchup is scheduled to take place at 9:00 a.m. on Feb. 28 in Winona, Minn.
Bemidji State 5, Upper Iowa 2
Singles competition
1.
Varvara Ogorodnikova (UIU) def. Sophie Groen (BSU) 7-5, 6-4
2.
Jessa Michieli (UIU) def. Shaelyn Johnson (BSU) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8)
3. Claudie Billand (BSU) def.
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-3, 7-6
4. Hannah Peterson (BSU) def.
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Laney Rutkowski (BSU) def.
Carolina Abella 6-0, 4-0 WR
6. Maggie Richardson (BSU) def.
Mya Herrmann (UIU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Sophie Groen/Shaelyn Johnson (BSU) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova/
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-1
2.
Jessa Michieli/
Alejandra Abella (UIU) def. Claudie Billand/Laney Rutkowski (BSU) 7-5
3. Hannah Peterson/Isabela Nelson (BSU) def.
Carolina Abella/
Mya Herrmann (UIU) 6-4
