The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team fell against the NCAA Division I University of Northern Iowa Panthers by a score of 7-0 on Mar. 5 in Waterloo, Iowa. The Peacocks were unable to grab a game in their doubles matches and were unable to secure a set in singles competition despite close sets in No. 1 and 2 singles. UNI improves to 2-6 on the season while UIU falls to a 1-4 (1-3 NSIC) record on the year.
Recap... The Peacocks were dispatched in doubles competition as the Panthers secured 6-0 wins in all three matches and secured a 1-0 lead in the dual.
UNI claimed their first singles victory with a 6-0, 6-0 win in No. 4 singles to take a 2-0 advantage as a team. A 6-0, 6-1 win in No. 6 singles followed by a 6-1, 6-0 victory in the No. 5 singles match over the Peacocks gave UNI two more points to lock up the dual for the Panthers with a 4-0 lead. After seeing UNI take a 5-0 lead thanks to a 6-0, 6-1 win in the No. 3 singles match, the Peacocks managed to claw away at the Panthers in more competitive No. 1 and No. 2 singles competition.
Varvara Ogorodnikova lost a closely contested first set by a score of 6-4 before dropping the No. 1 singles match 6-4, 6-1.
Jessa Michieli was locked in a hard-fought first set in her No. 2 singles match that went to a tiebreak. She fell 7-6 (7-3) in that tight set, and ultimately fell 7-6, 6-0 as the Panthers bested the Peacocks 7-0 to win the dual.
Quotables... "We had some tough matches today but everybody fought hard. In doubles, UNI was really aggressive, put a lot of pressure on us, and dominated the matches. In singles Varvara and Jessa both had some really close first sets but UNI was able to be more consistent than us in the second sets. After that, UNI dominated in singles No. 3-6, but we were able to win some games. We need to keep improving, be more inconsistent, and stop making unforced errors to be able to win our upcoming matches. Overall it is good for us to play strong competition to understand what it takes to be successful and to allow us to get better. We are looking forward to our match tomorrow against against Purdue Northwest."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
Up Next... The Peacocks will return to the court against the Pride of Purdue University-Northwest on Mar. 6. The dual is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. in Waterloo, Iowa.
Northern Iowa 7, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Emma CARR (UNI) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova (UIU) 6-4, 6-1
2. Madeline DOHERTY (UNI) def.
Jessa Michieli (UIU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0
3. Thaissa MOREIRA (UNI) def.
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Valentina CARO (UNI) def.
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Olivia FAIN (UNI) def.
Mya Herrmann (UIU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Issa SULLIVAN (UNI) def.
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Emma CARR/Olivia FAIN (UNI) def.
Varvara Ogorodnikova/
Lina Ziani (UIU) 6-0
2. Thaissa MOREIRA/Valentina CARO (UNI) def.
Jessa Michieli/
Alejandra Abella (UIU) 6-0
3. Madeline DOHERTY/Issa SULLIVAN (UNI) def.
Mya Herrmann/
Elaina Wall (UIU) 6-0
