The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team fell by a score of 6-1 in their NSIC Dual against St. Cloud State University. The Peacocks were hampered by effects of the Covid-19 vaccine, and two UIU players were forced to retire from singles competition because of these effects after receiving the vaccine the day prior.
Varvara Ogorodnikova has gone without losing a set in her last four duals for UIU as she claimed victories in both No. 2 singles and doubles action against the Huskies. St. Cloud State improves to record of 4-7 (3-6 NSIC) on the season while UIU falls to a 2-9 (2-6 NSIC) record on the year.
RECAP... The Peacocks fell 2-1 in doubles competition as the Huskies opened the dual with a 1-0 lead. St. Cloud secured a 6-2 victory at No. 1 doubles and a 6-3 win in No. 3 doubles to claim the first team point of the dual. The Upper Iowa duo of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani recorded a nice 6-3 victory in No. 2 doubles action. Ogorodnikova and Ziani have won each of their last four No. 2 doubles matches for the Peacocks and hold a 4-2 record as a No. 2 doubles pair on the season.
Following some hard-fought doubles competition, the Peacocks were hampered by effects of the Covid-19 vaccine that they received a day earlier.
Jessa Michieli and
Alejandra Abella were forced to retire due to these effects, giving St. Cloud victories at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
Elaina Wall won her opening set and put on valiant effort in a three-set No. 6 singles match, but she came up just short of victory in a 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 defeat. Ogorodnikova secured the lone singles win for Upper Iowa as she dominated in a 6-1, 6-0 victory in No. 2 singles. Ogorodnikova has now gone without losing a single set in her last four matches as she has gone 4-0 in No. 2 singles play on the season.
COACH'S QUOTES... "Today was a difficult day. Multiple girls on the team had to play through some health challenges and two had to retire, but everybody tried their best today. We picked up a solid victory at No. 2 doubles with Varvara (Ogorodnikova) and Lina (Ziani) who are continuing to improve their chemistry on the court and their doubles game. In singles, Varvara got another strong victory at No. 2. She played a solid match today and was able to set up her aggressive game really well. All the other singles were good matches, we just could not conclude the important points and St. Cloud took advantage of that today. In No. 6 singles, Elaina (Wall) had a really close three-set match and came really close to winning the match. Same for Lina and Mya (Herrmann), who both played really competitive matches. Overall, it's a tough result but I am proud of this team who fought through a lot of challenges today and gave their best."
- Head Coach Léo Millet
UP NEXT... The Peacocks are currently scheduled to play another NSIC Dual in St. Cloud, Minn. against the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Apr. 10 at 1 p.m.
St. Cloud 6, Upper Iowa 1
Singles competition
| 1. Goldsmith, Hina (SCSU) def. Michieli,Jessa (UIU) retired |
| 2. Ogorodnikova,Varvara (UIU) def. Fitzpatrick, Sam (SCSU) 6-1, 6-0 |
| 3. Kedrowski, Jill (SCSU) def. Ziani,Lina (UIU) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 4. Kinny, Shanna (SCSU) def. Abella,Alejandra (UIU) retired |
| 5. Brunkow, Emma (SCSU) def. Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-1, 6-3 |
| 6. Baranczyk, Ellen (SCSU) def. Wall,Elaina (UIU) 3-6, 6-2, 10-5 |
Doubles competition
| 1. Goldsmith, Hina/Kedrowski, Jill (SCSU) def. Michieli,Jessa/Abella,Alejandra (UIU) 6-2 |
| 2. Ogorodnikova,Varvara/Ziani,Lina (UIU) def. Kinny, Shanna/Fitzpatrick, Sam (SCSU) 6-3 |
| 3. Baranczyk, Ellen/Brunkow, Emma (SCSU) def. Wall,Elaina/Herrmann,Mya (UIU) 6-3 |
