Strong effort proved to be crucial in a successful weekend for women’s tennis

By James Krause

DeKALB — The women’s tennis team dropped a meeting Friday with the University of Wisconsin before taming two sets of Panthers on Saturday.

After sophomore Paula Veyhle picked up the sole win against the Badgers on Friday, the Huskies beat the University of Milwaukee and Eastern Illinois University teams by 4-3 each in a Saturday doubleheader.

Head Coach Eric Burns said the effort is what stood out, as the team advanced to 4-1 overall in the 2020 season.

“I’m so proud of our effort today,” Burns said in an NIU Athletics news release. “These were two quality teams that came in here, and it is tough to play back to back.”

Saturday Afternoon – NIU 4, Milwaukee 3 

The Huskies started their doubleheader on the right foot by earning the doubles point against Milwaukee. 

Senior Brodie Walker and Veyhle won their contest 6-3, while sophomores Christy Robinson and Fernanda Naves beat out junior Anna Daniel Fuentes and sophomore Agata Jurczak in a 7-6 set.

The Huskies and Panthers split the singles matches with junior Maria Potsi and Veyhle winning the opening two contests in two sets each.

Robinson sealed the win for the Huskies with a win over sophomore Anika Tylek in 6-4 and 7-5 sets.

Saturday Evening – NIU 4, EIU 3

NIU started its next meet of the day with another doubles point, this time in sweeping fashion.

Potsi and junior Lara Slisko won their contest 6-1 over junior Karla Contreras and first-year Brittany Steven. 

Robinson and Naves clinched the point with a 6-1 win of their own over first-years Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova and Lauren Ellis. Walker and Veyhle’s doubles match went unfinished as a result.

Potsi and Slisko made quick work of their singles opponents to set up Veyhle who clinched the match for NIU in a 6-1 and 6-2 victory over Ellis.

Robinson nearly completed a weekend sweep in her three set contest with Stevens, rebounding from a 6-1 loss with a 6-3 win. Ultimately, Robinson fell in the tiebreaker by 10-7.

NIU will resume play 3 p.m. Saturday when it will meet Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.