A match that came down to the wire went the way of the guests on Sunday morning and into the afternoon hours at the Courts of Northwest Indiana. The Beacons won the doubles point and received wins at the bottom of the singles lineup from sophomore Andrea Delgado (Richmond, Texas / Foster [Dallas Baptist]) and junior Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), but Bradley prevailed 4-3.
 
How It Happened

• The No. 2 doubles combo of senior Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Westside) and sophomore Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) got the job done with a 6-3 victory over Ruby Tseng and Mariia Pukhina. The other two matches were tightly contested, with Valpo eventually falling 6-4 at No. 1 to leave the doubles point resting on the No. 3 outcome.
• Delgado and senior Madi Rogers (Clearwater, Fla. / Florida Virtual [Bradley]) edged out a 7-6(2) win over Anna Belogliadova and Compassion Tsai.
• Bradley took No. 2 Singles in the first match to finish, but Delgado returned to her winning ways with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Ann Hsieh at No. 5 Singles.
• The next player off the court was Fernandes, who picked up a sixth-singles 6-4, 6-1 victory to put the Beacons ahead in the team match 3-1. With three singles matches left in action, the Beacons needed one more to go their way.
• All three of those matches required a third set to determine a victor. Valpo won the first set at both No. 3 and No. 4, but the Braves stormed back to win on each of those courts.
• Bradley pulled away in the opening set at No. 1 Singles, but Valpo rebounded with a 7-6(3) win in Set 2. The Braves won the decisive set 6-2 in the final match to finish, clinching the team victory.  

Inside the Match

• Rogers' victory at No. 3 doubles came against Belogliadova, who was her doubles partner when Rogers played for Bradley last season.
• Four of Valpo's last five matches have been decided by 4-3 scores, with the Beacons on the winning end twice and losing end twice. Overall this season, Valpo is 3-3 in matches decided by the slimmest of margins.
• The Beacons were oh so close on the opening weekend of MVC play, dropping both matches 4-3. Three of the last four Valpo/Bradley matches have been decided by 4-3 scores, with the Brown & Gold on the wrong end of the second straight year.
• Silva secured her 55^th career doubles win, moving into a tie for third in program history with Mara Sonkin (2000-2004).
• Fernandes was the lone member of the Valpo lineup to go 2-0 this weekend. She improved to 9-5 on the season and has 35 career singles victories.
• Delgado upped her record to 14-5, moving into a tie for the team lead in singles victories. She holds an 8-1 record in her last nine matches.

Up Next
The Beacons (10-5, 0-2 MVC) will host UIC on Friday at 9 a.m. at The Courts of Northwest Indiana or the Valpo Tennis Complex. Based on the current weather forecast, it looks like the match will most likely take place indoors.