NIU women’s tennis (6-2) swept the Western Illinois University Leathernecks (3-3) in a 7-0 win, its sixth sweep of the season.
“We fought really hard in the doubles when Western looked to have us in a tough position there,” said NIU women’s tennis head coach Eric Burns. “We turned a couple matches that didn’t look so good, so that was really nice to see. It got us off to a nice start and probably a little more positive heading into the singles.”
NIU senior Reagan Welch and junior Jenna Horne continued their unbeaten streak, besting Western Illinois freshman Richardlyne Francois and junior Lara Rossetto Diniz de Souza in a 6-4 set.
After going down 4-1 to start the match, junior Nataly Ninova and senior Maria Dzemeshkevich came back to take a 7-5 victory against freshman Chloe Routier and junior Nour Gueblaoui.
“We just got out heads together,” Ninova said of the comeback win. “We started cheering a little bit more for each other. We didn’t start well in that part and we just started scratching every single point that we could. Just making sure everything goes in and moving our feet a little bit more. I think it was that little change in mindset that helped us get back into it.”
The No. 2 doubles match saw Huskie duo junior Isabella Righi and freshman Lucia Yecora up 6-5 against senior Paige Grice and freshman Mana Fawcett when the match was called.
The Huskies continued the momentum into singles play, winning all matches in two sets.
Dzemeshkevich took dominant 6-3, 6-1 sets to defeat Rossetto Diniz.
Ninova won a 7-6 (7-2) first set against Grice, before taking a 6-4 second set for the win.
After a 6-1 first set, Righi beat Gueblaoui in a 6-3 second set for the victory.
All three Huskie freshmen played and won today, the first match of the spring for freshman Theodora Kousiou.
“They’re playing great,” said Burns of the freshman on the team. “Lou (Lucia Yecora) hasn’t lost a match. Irmak’s (Budak) moving up and playing at No. 1, winning matches and straight sets. And then to get T (Theodora Kousiou) back in the lineup, and to get Isa (Isabella Righi) back in, they’ve been out of singles, kind of coming back from injuries. For them to both play so well, that was really good for us. That just gives us so much more depth when we can have all of our people.”
In the No. 1 singles spot, freshman Irmak Budak was victorious against Routier by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
Yecora controlled her match against Fawcett, taking 6-2, 6-3 sets for the win.
Kousiou dominated 6-2, 6-0 sets against Leathernecks sophomore Anna-Evelina Trush to earn her first win of the spring season.
“I haven’t played in like three months, so I was really excited to play today,” Kousiou said. “I think I was able to have my way and was up in the score. I was really aggressive, that’s how I like to play. That was my best thing today.”
UP NEXT
“We just want to keep improving,” Burns said. “We want to keep getting matches for people where we can. It’s obviously always tricky when you’re trying to win, but we have such a deep team. We want to get everyone as many opportunities as we can to develop and get better. I guess next week is much of the same. Continue to roll, continue to make improvements and build confidence as we get closer to conference.”
The Huskies take on Valparaiso University at 10 a.m Saturday at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House, before facing Lewis University at 3 p.m.
