The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team clinched a hotly contested 4-3 decision over Southwest Minnesota State University to open their weekend. UIU picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles to take an early advantage before a No. 1 singles win. The Peacocks had to battle back after a 3-2 deficit, and wins at Nos. 3 and 4 singles gave UIU the victory. The Peacocks improve to a 6-4 (3-2 NSIC) record, while the Mustangs fall to 9-4 (3-3 NSIC).
RECAP... The Peacocks started strong by securing the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead in the team dual. Playing at No. 2 doubles, the pairing of
Charalampia Grammatikaki and
Jessa Michieli won a competitive match by a score of 6-4 to open the dual. SMSU won at No. 3 doubles over
Padmasree Murugan and
Elaina Wall to even the best-of-three battle for the doubles point at 1-1, but the Peacock pair of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani clinched a huge win in their first No. 1 doubles contest of 2022 with a tightly contested 7-5 win.
In singles play, Grammatikaki kept the momentum on the Peacock half of the court with a 6-0, 6-4 win in the No. 1 spot to put UIU up 2-0 in the best-of-seven team dual. However, Southwest Minnesota State turned the tide with three consecutive decisions in the Nos. 6, 5, and 2 matches, respectively, to go ahead 3-2 on the scoreboard. Murugan and Wall were bested in straight sets at the Nos. 5 and 6 spots, respectively. Michieli also went down in consecutive sets after a back-and-forth 7-6 battle in set one that saw the No. 2 singles competitor fall 8-6 in the first-set tiebreak.
The Peacocks had no margin for error with the Mustangs just one victory away from clinching the team win with two matches to play. It looked to be an uphill battle as Ziani faced a 5-2 deficit in her first set of the No.4 match, but the sophomore locked in and flipped the script to claim a gritty 7-5 decision. Ziani maintained her momentum and won 6-4 in set two to clinch the win and knot the team score at three points apiece. Tied 3-3 with just the No. 3 singles match remaining, Ogorodnikova won 6-2 in the first set to take the early edge. The sophomore finished strong in a hotly contested second set, winning 7-5 to secure the victory and the 4-3 team win for Upper Iowa.
COACH'S QUOTE... "Great team win today! The entire match was highly disputed and we had to fight hard for every point. We secured two victories in doubles by playing aggressive and confident tennis. SMSU pushed us on every point, but we were able to clinch the first point of the day. In singles, it was the same story; we had to fight for every point and trust our games. Chara (Grammatikaki), Varia (Ogorodnikova), and Lina (Ziani) were able to secure three points for us.
One example of many of the 'no-give-up' attitude we brought today was Lina at No. 4. She was down 5-2 in the first set but won 7-5. I saw this type of fight from everybody today, even on the matches we did not secure. I am extremely proud of the team for bringing that attitude. Overall, everybody brought a tremendous mindset and energy which made the difference for us today. We have another big challenge again tomorrow with Mankato, but we are looking forward to the match. Go Peacocks!" - Head Coach, Léo Millet
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa remains in Mankato, Minn. for a matchup against Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Peacocks play Mavericks on Sunday, Feb. 27, at 8:30 a.m.
RESULTS...
Upper Iowa 4, Southwest Minnesota State 3
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Chara (UIU) def. Reis Indio, Joana (SMSU) 6-0, 6-4
2. Leonard, Courtenay (SMSU) def. Michieli, Jessa (UIU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
3. Ogorodnikova, Varvara (UIU) def. Vuksanovic, Kristina (SMSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. Ziani, Lina (UIU) def. Delich, Cora (SMSU) 7-5, 6-4
5. Harck, Maja Louisa (SMSU) def. Murugan, Padmasree (UIU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Poulakidas, Daniela (SMSU) def. Wall, Elaina (UIU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Ogorodnikova, Varvara/Ziani, Lina (UIU) def. Leonard, Courtenay / Vuksanovic, Kristina (SMSU) 7-5
2. Grammatikaki, Chara/Michieli, Jessa (UIU) def. Reis Indio, Joana / Harck, Maja Louisa (SMSU) 6-4
3. Delich, Cora / Oye, Roz (SMSU) def. Murugan, Padmasree/Wall, Elaina (UIU) 6-3
