The Valparaiso University tennis team picked up its sixth win of the season on Saturday, rolling to a 6-1 triumph over visiting Purdue Northwest in a Northwest Indiana clash at The Courts of NWI.
 
How It Happened

• All three Valpo doubles teams had their way with the Pride. The most dominant matchup came at No. 2, where Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Westside) and Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) did not drop a game in their 6-0 victory. The Beacons were on the right side of 6-3 scores at No. 1 – featuring Lacey Tanner (Fort Pierce, Fla. / Florida Virtual School) and Alexandra Popa (Glenview, Ill. / Glenbrook South) – and No. 3 – featuring Madi Rogers (Clearwater, Fla. / Florida Virtual [Bradley]) and Andrea Delgado (Richmond, Texas / Foster [Dallas Baptist]).
• PNW took the first singles match to finish at No. 4, but shortly thereafter Silva finalized a 6-0, 6-1 route over Elisoa Andriantefihasina at the top singles spot.
• At second singles, Popa pulled away in Set 1, beating Tamiya Lintz 6-1, then grinded out a closer 7-5 victory to secure the sweep.
• The team match was clinched thanks to the work of Tanner at No. 3, as she followed a similar script as Popa, winning a lopsided first set 6-1 and a closer second set 7-6(2) over Haizea Lopez.
• Sophomore Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) played the No. 6 position in the lineup on Saturday. She too cruised in Set 1 before outlasting Gay Monti Coella in the second set to take the match 6-0, 7-6(4).
• At No. 5 Singles, Delgado had to roar from behind after dropping the opening set to Lavinia Bortolaso 7-6(5). She stormed back to win the second set 6-2, and since the team match had been clinched, the two players engaged in a 10-point tiebreak to decide the match and Delgado prevailed 10-3.

Inside the Match

• Valpo has already doubled its win total from last season.
• Silva improved to 10-2 on the season including 8-0 in dual matches. She captured her 58^th career singles victory, surpassing Claire Czerwonka (2017-2022) in the program record book and moving into the top five. In fact, Silva is now part of a three-way tie for fourth alongside Mara Sonkin (2000-2004) and Christina Scala (2000-2004).
• On the doubles side, Silva reached the 50-win milestone. She moved into a tie for sixth in Valpo history, joining Monika Danko (2001-2005).
• Delgado is second on the team after garnering her ninth singles victory including a 7-1 dual-match mark.  
• Fernandes secured her 31^st career singles win, while Tanner, a sophomore, is up to 16.

Up Next
The Beacons (6-3) will host Marian on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m. at The Courts of Northwest Indiana.