Senior Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Westside) returned to the lineup after missing the first match of the spring season with an injury, and didn't skip a beat. She prevailed in both singles and doubles, serving as a bright spot in the Valparaiso University tennis team's 6-1 setback to Northern Illinois on Saturday evening at The Courts of Northwest Indiana.
 
How It Happened

• The first double match to finish came at No. 1, where Northern Illinois took a key break to go up 4-2 right after Valpo had gone up a break at No. 2 dubs, then the No. 1 pairs exchanged holds and NIU eventually took the top doubles match 6-3 to go up 1-0 in doubles.
• Each of the remaining doubles matches had Valpo simultaneously serving for the match up 5-4. The No. 2 duo of Silva and sophomore Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) held and won 6-4, riding a key break early in the match to go up 3-2 that put the Beacons on the path to victory.
• At No. 3, Valpo was serving for the match after originally going down a break early and facing a 3-0 deficit. However, a topsy-turvy match saw the Huskies break to extend the showdown at 5-5. With all eyes now on the third doubles court, NIU held to go ahead 6-5. Valpo had a game point at 40-30 to force a tiebreak, but NIU fended off that point and won the deuce point, breaking serve to win 7-5 and capture a dramatic doubles point.
• Silva returned to the lineup and provided a big lift. In addition to her victory at second doubles, she rolled to a win on the No. 1 Singles court, beating Irmak Budak 6-2, 6-2.
• The remaining Beacons dropped their matches in straight sets. At No. 4, Steven lost a tight 7-5 opening set, while freshman Ana Baron (Crown Point, Ind. / Crown Point) also had a competitive first set at No. 6, dropping the match 6-4, 6-3.
• Silva increased her combined career win total to 103 with her singles and doubles successes on Saturday. She secured her 48^th career doubles win, moving her into sole possession of seventh in program history, snapping a tie with Kate Evangelist (2003-2007). She upped her career singles win total to 55, a total that ranks seventh in the program record book.

Up Next
The Beacons (4-2) will face off with Butler in an instate showdown that begins at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31 at The Courts of Northwest Indiana.