Sweeping singles matches to come back from losing the doubles point, NIU women’s tennis (15-4, 2-1 MAC) defeated the Western Michigan University Broncos (10-8, 1-2 MAC) in a 6-1 win.
“After a really tough doubles point in which we didn’t really play too well, we really fought back hard in singles,” said NIU women’s tennis head coach Eric Burns. “It was a really good effort for our team. One through six, just awesome play. I’m really proud of the effort.”
NIU freshman Lucia Yecora and junior Isabella Righi were swept by graduate student Christine Gouws and freshman Marielou Baudouin in a 6-0 set.
Senior Maria Dzemeshkevich and junior Nataly Ninova fell in a 6-4 set against graduate student Lola Glantz and junior Audrey Smitek to concede the doubles point.
Senior Reagan Welch and junior Jenna Horne were ahead in a close 5-4 matchup with graduate student Polina Khotko and freshman Frida Weijerman when the match was concluded.
“If we lose that doubles point we’ve got to dig in there and try to get those singles,” Burns said. “We’re making it tough on ourselves, but today we came up big. That won’t happen every time, so we’ve got to go back to the drawing board and figure out why we’re not getting off to good starts in these doubles points.”
Yecora rolled past Weijerman in dominant 6-0, 6-3 sets for her fourth straight singles match victory, leveling the score for the Huskies.
Freshman Irmak Budak defeated Gouws in 6-3, 6-2.
Ninova clinched the win for the Huskies, taking 6-4, 6-3 sets against Khotko.
After a close 7-5 first set, junior Isabella Righi bested Baudouin in a 6-4 second set for the win.
Freshman Theodora Kousiou defeated Broncos sophomore Julia Frazier in straight 7-5 sets.
In a three-set battle at the No. 1 singles spot, Dzemeshkevich dropped a 6-2 first set before taking 6-4, 6-3 sets for the win against Glantz, completing the singles sweep for the Huskies.
“Maria (Dzemeshkevich) played really well,” Burns said. “The girl she beat, she’s been really good for them (Western Michigan) this year. We could have had a situation where she lost her first set and just went away in the second, but today she really dug in there and fought back. I think that was a big breakthrough for that to happen today.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies return home at 1 p.m. Friday when they take on the University of Toledo at Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House before facing Chicago State University at 6 p.m. the same day.
