DeKALB – NIU women’s tennis was again dominated in a 7-0 blowout against Miami University Friday. Friday was the second consecutive game in which a MAC foe shut out NIU.

A poor performance during singles crippled NIU’s opportunity at a MAC tournament appearance. The Huskies will miss the tournament for the 15th consecutive season. 

With the loss, NIU drops to 12-15 overall, and 2-7 in the MAC. MU improves to 11-12 overall, and 5-4 in the conference. 

DOUBLES

NIU put together a lackluster performance during the opening matches. The Huskies suffered losses at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots with a no contest at No. 1. 

RedHawk sophomores Nishitha Saravanan and Mayu Ushio took eight sets to defeat freshmen Jenna Horne and Isabella Righi, while Miami sophomores Sara Zalukar and Emilia Valentinsson defeated junior Diana Lukyanova and sophomore Reagan Welch in just seven sets. 

Sophomore Erika Dimitriev and freshman Nataly Ninova took an early 4-1 lead through the first five matches against fifth-year Laura Rico and sophomore Catherine Denysiewicz-Slowek. Dimitriev and Ninova were just two sets away from closing the match when the MU duo went on a 3-0 run. The match went unfinished, resulting in a 4-4 no contest. 

SINGLES

MU dominated during singles, claiming five out of six matches by a wide margin. Five out of six games were decided in just two sets while the Dimitriev vs. Rico match went to a tiebreaker.

Dimitriev and Rico’s heated duel at the No. 1 spot was Friday’s only tiebreaking match. The score was 6-6  through 12 games in the second set when Dimitriev took the next point to force overtime. The back-and-forth duel was called after Rico took the first set to claim the match. 

UP NEXT

The Huskies return home for the season finale at 11 a.m. Sunday as they face Western Michigan University at the Nelson Tennis Center in the Chick Evans Field House. Live stats will be available via iOncourt.