The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team was felled in their final two duals of the season. The Peacocks fell by a score of 6-0 against No. 25 Augustana University (S.D.) on Apr. 17 before falling 7-0 against the University of Sioux Falls to wrap up their regular season on Apr. 18. Upper Iowa tennis will say their goodbyes to their lone senior and team captain, Alejandra Abella, as her Peacock career comes to an end.
AGAINST AUGUSTANA... Facing off against No. 25 Augustana University (S.D.), the Peacocks were unable to win a set as they fell by a score of 6-0. The Peacocks were shorthanded as a team, and everyone but
Jessa Michieli moved up to play a higher singles match than they are accustomed to. The Vikings claimed the first point in the dual with a sweep of doubles competition to take a 1-0 lead. No. 1 and 2 singles were competitive despite neither Peacock winning a set. Michieli fell 6-1, 6-1 in No. 1 singles, and
Lina Ziani fell 6-0, 6-0 in her first No. 2 singles match of the season as they both lost a few games at deuce that just did not go UIU's way. The 25th ranked Vikings would go on to claim the 6-0 win in UIU's penultimate game of the season.
SATURDAY QUOTABLES... "We had tough final results today against a really amazing Augustana team. In doubles, we could not find our rhythm and Augustana was able to put a lot of pressure right away and control the matches. We played much better in singles. Even if the scores don't necessarily show it, we had some competitive matches. We had many deuce games once again that we could not close, and that led to some of the scores being so one-sided. I am happy with the way we played in singles, and we will need to start stronger in doubles tomorrow against Sioux Falls."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
AGAINST SIOUX FALLS... Playing against the University of Sioux Falls in their final dual of the season, the Peacocks fell by a score of 7-0 despite picking up a win at No. 1 doubles to open the day. Playing shorthanded as a team for the second dual in a row, the Peacocks were forced to concede the No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles match in what proved to be the difference on the doubles side.
Jessa Michieli and
Alejandra Abella earned an impressive 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles to open the dual, but Upper Iowa was unable to carry that momentum into the rest of the team's matches. The Cougars took control as the Peacocks were unable to secure a set in the 7-0 defeat to close the book on the 2021 campaign.
SUNDAY QUOTABLES... "We started the day better than yesterday by winning at No.1 doubles. Jessa (Michieli) and Alejandra (Abella) played great today and really took control of the match by being aggressive at the net. In singles, unfortunately we were not consistent enough against an experienced Sioux Falls team. We made too many unforced errors and lost some decisive points. Everybody fought hard and it just didn't go our way today. We are the youngest team in the conference this year, so we have to learn and keep improving. We will just need to keep working hard during the off-season and learn from this season. I am excited with the talent we have in the team and with the players we are adding to the team next season, we have a bright future ahead of us. Also, special shootout to Alejandra, our team captain and lone senior, who played her last match as a Peacock today. She was a great player and leader for us these past two years and we will definitely miss her. Go Peacocks!"
- Head Coach Léo Millet
RESULTS
No. 25 Augustana 6, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Monko, Valeriya (AUGIE) def. Michieli,Jessa (UIU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Arce Vieyra, Laura (AUGIE) def. Ziani,Lina (UIU) 6-0, 6-0
3. Kistanova, Aleksandr (AUGIE) def. Abella,Alejandra (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
4. Goble, Grace (AUGIE) def. Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Falkner, Rebecca (AUGIE) def. Wall,Elaina (UIU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Hadjigeorgiou, Flore/Monko, Valeriya (AUGIE) def. Michieli,Jessa/Abella,Alejandra (UIU) 6-0
2. Kistanova, Aleksandr/Granson, Emily (AUGIE) def. Ziani,Lina/Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-0
Sioux Falls 7, Upper Iowa 0
Singles competition
1. Quandt, Megan (USF) def. Michieli,Jessa (UIU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Janos, Talia (USF) def. Ziani,Lina (UIU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Miller, Lexi (USF) def. Abella,Alejandra (UIU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Klatt, Rachel (USF) def. Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Ambrosio-Cueto, V. (USF) def. Wall,Elaina (UIU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Thorfinnson, Daniell (USF) def. No player (UIU), by forfeit
Doubles competition
1. Michieli,Jessa/Abella,Alejandra (UIU) def. Quandt, Megan/Janos, Talia (USF) 7-5
2. Thorfinnson, Joelle/Klatt, Rachel (USF) def. Ziani,Lina/Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-0
3. Miller, Lexi/Ambrosio-Cueto, V. (USF) def. No player/No player (UIU), by forfeit
