The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team was narrowly bested by Bemidji State 4-3 in an NSIC dual. UIU picked up wins at Nos. 1, 3, & 5 singles, but the doubles point proved to be the difference as UIU won only the No. 2 doubles match. The Peacocks drop to a 4-4 (1-2 NSIC) record, while the Beavers improve to 4-4 (2-4 NSIC).
RECAP... Bemidji State took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven team dual by securing the doubles point.
Charalampia Grammatikaki and
Jessa Michieli fell by a score of 6-1 in No. 1 doubles, but the Peacock pairing of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani won 6-3 at the No. 2 spot to even the doubles competition. In the deciding No. 3 doubles match,
Padmasree Murugan and
Mya Herrmann battled hard but fell 6-4 as BSU claimed the doubles point.
Ogorodnikova got the Peacocks on track with a 6-2, 6-2 win in straight sets at the No. 3 singles spot. The win tied the teams at 1-1 in the dual, and Grammatikaki kept the momentum going with a 6-3, 6-2 straight-set win in No. 1 singles to double the UIU lead. The consecutive singles wins put Upper Iowa up 2-1 in the dual with four singles matches remaining.
The next finish came at the No. 2 singles spot as Michieli fell 6-3, 6-2 to even the score. Ziani dropped a hard-fought, three-set No. 4 singles match 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 as the Beavers took a 3-2 edge and came within one win of clinching the victory. The Peacocks had an answer as Murugan picked up a 6-4, 6-1 win in No. 5 singles, knotting the team score at three wins apiece. In the deciding No. 6 singles match,
Elaina Wall was locked in a back-and-forth battle through two sets. Wall won a tight 7-5 decision in set one and went ahead 5-2 in the second set to get to a set and match point. The Peacocks had two match points with Wall in control, but her Beaver opponent, Taylor Offerdahl, battled back with a 7-5 win of her own to force a tie-breaking third set. Bemidji State got a 6-1 win in the deciding third set of the deciding singles match, clinching the 4-3 win in the dual.
COACH'S QUOTE... "Extremely tough loss today. We picked up one win in doubles, but we were not able to secure a second match. In singles, we picked up great victories at 1-3-5 but were not able to win the rest of the matches. As a team, we made way too many unforced errors and were not able to adjust mid-match to some of the challenges we faced. Bemidji State played smart tennis and just found a way to beat us today. Credit to them. As for us, we just need to learn from this loss, bring a fresh energy tomorrow and play confident, aggressive tennis, which is what defines us." - Head Coach, Léo Millet
UP NEXT... The Peacocks stay in Bemidji, Minn. for their second day of action on Sunday, Feb. 20, for an NSIC dual against the University of Minnesota Crookston at 9 a.m.
RESULTS...
Bemidji State 4, Upper Iowa 3
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Chara (UIU) def. Groen, Sophie (BSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Johnson, Shaelyn (BSU) def. Michieli, Jessa (UIU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Ogorodnikova, Varvara (UIU) def. Anestiadi, Nicoleta (BSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Rutkowski, Laney (BSU) def. Ziani, Lina (UIU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
5. Murugan, Padmasree (UIU) def. Nelson, Isabela (BSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Offerdahl, Taylor (BSU) def. Wall, Elaina (UIU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Groen, Sophie/Johnson, Shaelyn (BSU) def. Grammatikaki, Chara/Michieli, Jessa (UIU) 6-1
2. Ogorodnikova, Varvara/Ziani, Lina (UIU) def. Anestiadi, Nicoleta/Rutkowski, Laney (BSU) 6-3
3. Nelson, Isabela/Leitner, Lexi (BSU) def. Murugan, Padmasree/Herrmann, Mya (UIU) 6-4
