NIU women’s tennis (2-0) swept both Lindenwood University (0-1) and Saint Louis University (0-1), taking respective 7-0, 4-0 victories Friday.
LINDENWOOD
In the first doubles match, junior Nataly Ninova and senior Maria Dzemeshkevich defeated Lindenwood sophomore duo Sarah Ben Aba and Paola Garcia in a 6-2 set.
Junior Isabella Righi and freshman Lucia Yecora took a 6-3 set against junior Michelle Trochez and senior Daniela Rosenberger, while senior Reagan Welch and junior Jenna Horne beat Lindenwood senior Yana Gaskell and sophomore Fabiana Labrador by a score of 6-3.
Continuing the success in singles matches, the Huskies won each singles match in two sets.
Dzemeshkevich bested Labrador in dominant 6-1, 6-3 sets.
Ninova took the first set against Trochez 7-5 and a 6-2 second set to clinch the victory.
NIU freshman Irmak Budak won a 7-5 first set before taking a 6-4 set for the win against Garcia.
Yecora won her match against Gaskell in 6-1, 7-5 sets.
Welch defeated Rosenberger in two consecutive 6-3 sets.
Horne took 6-4, 6-3 set victories against Ben Aba to complete the sweep for the Huskies against Lindenwood.
SAINT LOUIS
Welch and Horne dominated their match against Saint Louis senior Lizzie Barlow and freshman Aryn Walker in a 6-0 win.
Righi and Yecora clinched the doubles point for the Huskies, defeating sophomores Nicolly Ferreira and Angelina Joao in a 6-2 set.
Ninova and Dzemeshkevich were up 5-3 against Saint Louis junior Fiorella Duran and sophomore Emmerson White when the match was unfinished after the doubles point was won for the Huskies.
Three singles matches were unfinished, and NIU won three to secure the team victory.
Ninova dominated 6-2, 6-1 sets in the second singles match against Ferreira.
Welch dropped 4 games in a 6-4 first set over Joao, before sweeping a 6-0 second set for the win.
Horne was the clincher for the Huskies, taking her match against Walker to a third set. After losing a 6-1 first set, Horne came back with 6-3, 6-2 sets to get the win and end the match for NIU.
At the conclusion of the match, three singles matches for the Huskies were ruled unfinished. Dzemeshkevich forced a third set against Duran, after conceding the first set 5-7. Dzemeshkevich won a 6-1 second set before the match was concluded. Budak won a 6-1 first set against White, and the two were locked in a 3-3 third set when the match was called. After a 6-2 first set loss, Yecora took a 6-2 win against Walker to force a third set before the conclusion of the match.
UP NEXT
The Huskies return to action at 3 p.m. Sunday against the University of Missouri Tigers at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Missouri. Live scores will be available on Stat Broadcast.