Huskies toppled in fight with Irish

Women’s tennis drops to 3-2 after first road loss of 2022 to Notre Dame.

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Northern Star File Photo

Junior Lara Slisko prepares for an opponents swing at the NIU Tennis Courts.

DeKALB — The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish snapped the women’s tennis team’s three match win streak in a 5-2 victory in South Bend on Sunday.

Senior Christy Robinson and freshman Reagan Welch notched NIU’s lone victories of the day. Welch’s first round against Notre Dame senior Maeve Koscielski resulted in a 6-2 win. The following round saw the two players battle to game point before Welch edged Koscielski 7-6 to earn the match victory at #4.

Robinson’s first round against Notre Dame sophomore Sydney Sforzo fared poorly as Sforzo jumped to an early advantage with a 6-1 win. Robinson turned the tide the following round with a 6-0 shutout before dominating the tiebreaker 6-1 to earn the Huskies’ second win of the day.

“Reagan and Christy played really well to get those points,” head coach Eric Burns said in an NIU Athletics press release. “Really, across the board, we put some pressure on them and played some very good sets.”

The remaining Huskies did not share similar fortunes as the Fighting Irish emerged as the victors of the other four matches in singles play.

Notre Dame continued its winning methods with a complete sweep of the Huskies in all three doubles matches. Freshman Erika Dimitriev and sophomore Anastasia Rakita proved to be the most challenging for the Irish in doubles competition, ending the dual with a score of 7-5. The other two doubles matches saw Notre Dame snatch 6-1 victories in each.

“I’m really proud of the effort against a very solid (Atlantic Coast Conference) team,” Burns said. “A showing like this gives us confidence that we can play against anyone.

NIU’s overall record drops to 3-2 following Sunday’s loss to end weekend play while Notre Dame walks away at 5-2.

The Huskies will have their next chance to add to the win column Friday as they prepare to begin a six-game home stretch. NIU hosts Marquette University and the University of St. Francis Friday at Chick Evans Field House in DeKalb. The Huskies will do battle with the Marquette Golden Eagles at 1 p.m. before clashing with the St. Francis Fighting Saints at 6 p.m.