This Week in Peacock Tennis… The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team will compete in a pair of nonconference duals over the weekend as they take a short road trip to Waterloo, Iowa. The Peacocks will face the NCAA Division I Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa on Friday, Mar. 5, before taking on the Pride of Purdue University-Northwest on Saturday, Mar. 6. UIU holds a 1-3 (1-3 NSIC) record on the season, and is coming off a weekend where they fell to Bemidji State before besting Minnesota Crookston to secure their first victory of the season. 
 
Taking a Look Back… The Peacocks earned a split in their NSIC Duals last weekend in Winona, Minn. against conference foes Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston. Jessa Michieli had an impressive performance over the weekend as she did not lose a match and claimed six of the seven sets that she played over the two NSIC Duals. After picking up a win in No. 2 doubles on Saturday against Bemidji State, she earned a team point in the dual following an exciting 6-4, 5-7, 1-0 (10-8) win in the No. 2 singles match after being down 5-1 in the third set tiebreaker. On Sunday against Minnesota Crookston, Michieli claimed a 6-0 victory in No. 2 doubles before winning her No. 2 singles match 6-4, 6-1 to stay undefeated on the weekend. Against the Golden Eagles, the Peacocks did not give up a single game through three doubles matches as they flawlessly secured a 1-0 lead in Sunday's dual. Varvara Ogorodnikova did not drop a single game throughout her No. 1 doubles or singles competition. She and Lina Ziani picked up the 6-0 victory in No. 1 doubles before Ogorodnikova went on to win 6-0, 6-0 in her No. 1 singles contest.

Scouting the Competition… The UNI Panthers are 1-6 this season and have dropped six duals in a row following a win to open their season. Northern Iowa is led by Emma Carr who holds a 3-4 record in her No. 1 singles matches and is 2-5 in No. 1 doubles competition. Valentina Caro is 3-3 in No. 4 singles matches, 0-1 as the No. 5 singles, and is 2-5 in No. 2 doubles contests for the Panthers. Purdue University-Northwest holds a 2-4 record on the season but is on a 0-3 stretch coming into their matchup against the Peacocks. The Pride sit at 21 points scored and 21 points allowed in their six duals, but have two one-point losses and two two-point losses. They are led by Patricia Dizon who holds a 3-2 record in No. 3 singles and is 0-1 in No. 2 singles. Julia Yanes-Barrera is 4-1 in No. 6 singles matchups and is 3-3 in No. 3 doubles. 
 
Up Next… The Peacocks have a two-week break between matches following the conclusion of Saturday's action. The team is scheduled to get back on the court on Mar. 20 for an NSIC Dual against the Warriors of Winona State University in Winona, Minn. at 3:30 p.m. before heading to Waverly, Iowa to face the NCAA Division III Knights of Wartburg College in a dual scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Mar. 22.