The Upper Iowa University women's tennis team's campaign came to a close in the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament, falling 4-2 against Southwest Minnesota State University. SMSU clinched the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, and wins at Nos. 4, 5, and 6 singles clinched the best-of-seven team win despite wins at Nos. 1 and 2 singles by Upper Iowa. The Peacocks finish the season with a 9-8 record and a 6-5 NSIC mark. The Mustangs improve to 17-10 (8-3 NSIC) and will move on to face Winona State University in the semifinals.
RECAP... Southwest Minnesota State took a 1-0 lead after winning two matches in the best-of-three doubles point.
Padmasree Murugan and
Elaina Wall fell 6-0 in the No. 3 match before
Charalampia Grammatikaki and
Jessa Michieli earned a strong 6-3 win in the No. 2 doubles match. In the third doubles contest,
Varvara Ogorodnikova and
Lina Ziani held a 4-3 edge in the No. 1 spot before SMSU clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 victory.
In singles, the Mustangs doubled their lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Wall in the No. 6 match. Grammatikaki put the Peacocks on the board with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win in the top singles spot, cutting the UIU deficit to 2-1. SMSU pulled within one point of clinching the dual thanks to a 6-0, 6-2 win over Murugan in the No. 5 spot, but Upper Iowa staved off elimination thanks to an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win by Michieli in the No. 3 singles contest.
With Ogorodnikova and Ziani yet to finish, the Peacocks needed to win both the No. 2 and 4 singles matches to clinch the win. Ogorodnikova won her first set 6-2 and was up 6-5 in set two, but Ziani's No. 4 match ended in a 6-1, 7-5 decision that saw the Mustangs come out on top and clinch the best-of-seven team win in the process with a 4-2 victory.
COACH'S QUOTE... "We had a tough result today, but the team played hard and gave everything they had. In doubles, we won at N2 but dropped 1 and 3. Double 1 was especially close and we had our chances, but we were not able to close out the points. In singles, we won comfortably at 1 and 3 and were up in single 2 when SMSU clinched the 4 points. The rest of the singles were good matches, but unfortunately SMSU was more consistent than us in those singles. Even though the results didn't go our way, I am extremely proud of this team. We are a young team with tremendous talent! This loss hurts, but it will fuel us to train harder, become better tennis players, and push us everyday to come back stronger next year! Go Peacocks!" - Head Coach, Léo Millet
RESULTS...
Southwest Minnesota State 4, Upper Iowa 2
Singles competition
1. Grammatikaki, Chara (UIU) def. Reis Indio, Joana (SMSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Ogorodnikova, Varvara (UIU) vs. Leonard, Courtenay (SMSU) 6-2, 6-5 (unfinished)
3. Michieli, Jessa (UIU) def. Vuksanovic, Kristina (SMSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Harck, Maja Louisa (SMSU) def. Ziani, Lina (UIU) 6-1, 7-5
5. Delich, Cora (SMSU) def. Murugan, Padmasree (UIU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Madikwe, Faith (SMSU) def. Wall, Elaina (UIU) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Reis Indio, Joana / Leonard, Courtenay (SMSU) def. Ogorodnikova, Varvara / Ziani, Lina (UIU) 7-5
2. Grammatikaki, Chara / Michieli, Jessa (UIU) def. Vuksanovic, Kristina / Madikwe, Faith (SMSU) 6-3
3. Delich, Cora / Oye, Roz (SMSU) def. Murugan, Padmasree / Wall, Elaina (UIU) 6-0
