DeKALB — The women’s tennis team (2-4) couldn’t use its momentum from the last two wins to carry it over Illinois State Saturday and fell 5-2.

“We just need to close [matches] out,” said Head Coach Tanya Mahefu. “We weren’t able to capitalize at the end.”

The Redbirds swept the doubles matches, making the Huskies 0-4 this season in pairs.

At No. 1, Veronika Golanova and Jelena Karla Vujicic of the Redbirds got the win over freshman Thisuri Moligoda and senior Evelyn Youel 6-1.

The freshman team of Maria Potsi and Lara Slisko were able to put up a fight but couldn’t finish and were defeated 6-4 at No. 2.

Senior Abigail Dekkinga and sophomore Brodie Walker were shut out in the last doubles match.

“It was a tough match,” Mahefu said. “The girls competed well moving forward from the doubles.”

Pacing the Huskies in singles, Molligoda pushed the match into three sets but came up short, dropping the final one 10-5 at No. 1.

Potsi and Dekkinga weren’t able to put the Huskies on the board in their matches at No. 2 and 3, respectively.

However, Youel put a point on the board with her win in match No. 4.

Youel fought for her win in a match, going to all three sets with the last one ending with a score of 13-11.

In match No. 5, Slisko couldn’t carry the momentum over and lost by getting shut out in her last set.

Walker took the win at No. 6 against Fitzgerald by a score of 2-6, 6-1, 10-8.

“There were a couple spots where I felt we could have been closer,” Mahefu said, according to NIU Media Services. “It is time to get back to work for our two home matches against similar opponents.”

The Huskies will look to remain undefeated at home, as they will host Valparaiso and Eastern Illinois in their next match.

First serve against Valparaiso will be 9 a.m. Saturday followed by a match 1 p.m. against Eastern Illinois at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford.