The Valparaiso University tennis team boasted a pair of singles victories on Saturday, as
Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) and
Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) both emerged victorious in their matches as the Beacons fell 5-2 to Milwaukee at the Courts of Northwest Indiana.
How It Happened
- In doubles action, the top spot featured a whitewash as Silva and partner Naomi Lalonde cruised to victory over Nadiia Konieva and Nikola Nikolajeva, winning six straight games to take the match. However, Milwaukee picked up victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to capture the doubles point.
- Silva made quick work of her No. 1 Singles adversary, dispatching Nadiia Konieva 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 Singles in the first match to finish.
- Many of the singles matches were tightly contested in a match that could have gone either way. Lacey Tanner (Fort Pierce, Fla. / Florida Virtual School) dropped a pair of close sets 6-4, 7-5 at No. 5. At No. 4, the match was also competitive with Brynn Steven coming up on the wrong end of a 6-3, 6-4 score to give the Panthers a commanding 3-1 lead in the match.
- A marathon tiebreak in the opening set saw Fernandes eke out a 7-6(12) victory over Laure Razet at No. 3, then she rolled to a 6-1 match-winning triumph in Set 2, making it a 3-2 team score with Valpo needing to capture victories on each of the remaining singles courts.
- Lalonde took the opening set 7-5 at No. 2 against Nikola Nikolajeva, but she dropped the remaining sets and lost the match 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, allowing the guests to seal the team win. The final match to finish was at No. 6, where Lillian Kelly (Fullerton, Calif. / Fullerton Union) took the opening set but fell 3-6, 6-0, 7-5.
Inside The Match
- Silva's win came over Konieva, who went 17-9 in singles play for the Panthers last season.
- Silva entered double figures with her 10th singles win of the season, while she and Lalonde each picked up doubles win No. 6. Silva is up to 43 career singles wins, six away from cracking the program's all-time top 10. She has 38 career doubles wins, three away from reaching the program's all-time top 10 in that category.
- Fernandes boosted her team-best season win total to 11 and now has six wins in doubles play. In only her sophomore season, Fernandes has 26 career singles successes.
Up Next
Valpo (3-3) will hit the road for the first time this spring, visiting Northern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. in DeKalb, Ill.
