The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team was unable to secure a weekend sweep with a win in their second dual of the weekend, falling 5-2 against the University of Mary. Grammatikaki and Murugan each won three-set battles at No. 1 and No. 5 singles, respectively, but UMary came out on top. The Peacocks fall to a 3-3 (1-1 NSIC) record, while the Marauders improve to 2-0 (2-0 NSIC).
RECAP... UMary 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 6-3 in No. 1 doubles, while the Peacock pairings of
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani at No. 2 and
Padmasree Murugan and
Elaina Wall at No. 3 fell 6-2.
In singles matches, Grammatikaki and Murugan secured points for the Peacocks with hard-fought wins in three sets. At No. 1 singles, Grammatikaki won the first and third sets to secure a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win. At No. 5 singles, Murugan persevered through a tightly contested opening set, winning 7-6 after an 8-6 win in the tiebreak. The UIU newcomer's UMary opponent answered with a 6-2 win in the second set, but Murugan claimed another close win in set three to clinch victory, winning 1-0 (10-8).
No. 2, 3, 4, and 6 singles were decided in straight sets as the Marauders clinched a 5-2 win in the team dual, but UIU was competitive throughout the contest. Michieli lost her first set 7-5 before a 6-2 decision in set two in No. 2 singles. At No. 3 singles, Ogorodnikova pushed her opponent in each set but could not come out on top, falling 6-4, 7-5. Ziani fell 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4 singles, while Wall fell 6-2, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to round out the UIU competitors.
COACH'S QUOTE... "We started slow in doubles today and were chasing the score. We need to be more aggressive from the start and make the final shot. We just made too many errors on the final approach or volley, which cost us. In singles, we dropped singles 2-3-4-6, but all these matches were competitive. UMary was just more consistent than us, and we made too many unforced errors. We picked two good victories at singles 1 and 5. Charalampia (Grammatikaki) and Padmasree (Murugan) won their matches in three sets and showed great ability to adjust and take control of the match when needed.
Overall, this match will be important for us going forward as we learned what we need to keep improving on, including the need to start stronger in doubles. UMary has a very solid team and will probably be a top 2-3 team this season, but we were right there with them in many matches. We just need to improve in doubles and reduce our unforced errors. Go Peacocks!" - Head Coach, Léo Millet
UP NEXT... The Peacocks return to action on Sunday, Feb. 13, for a non-conference dual against the College of Saint Benedict at 9 a.m. in Winona, Minn.
RESULTS...
UMary 5, Upper Iowa 2
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Charalampia [UIU] def. Chong, Chloe [UMARY] 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Freitag, Ilona [UMARY] def. Michieli, Jessa [UIU] 7-5, 6-2
3. Mohamed, Doaa [UMARY] def. Ogorodnikova, Varvara [UIU] 6-4, 7-5
4. Needham, Emily [UMARY] def. Ziani, Lina [UIU] 6-2, 6-4
5. Murugan, Padmasree [UIU] def. Jacobson, Heidi [UMARY] 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
6. McDonald, Callie [UMARY] def. Wall, Elaina [UIU] 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Chong, Chloe / Freitag, Ilona [UMARY] def. Grammatikaki, Charalampia / Michieli, Jessa [UIU] 6-3
2. Mohamed, Doaa / Needham, Emily [UMARY] def. Ogorodnikova, Varvara / Ziani, Lina [UIU] 6-2
3. Jacobson, Heidi / McDonald, Callie [UMARY] def. Murugan, Padmasree / Wall, Elaina [UIU] 6-2
