The post-match retirement celebration party got a whole lot sweeter for Valparaiso University tennis head coach Bob Modesto on Saturday.
 
With all eyes on her court and the match hanging in the balance, sophomore Lacey Tanner delivered in a big way. She rallied from down 0-5 to win the second set and then closed out a tight third set to lift the Beacons to a heart-pounding 4-3 victory over visiting Drake at The Courts of Northwest Indiana, beating the Bulldogs for the first time in program history.
 
How It Happened

• Valpo prevailed on all three doubles courts, winning at No. 1 and No. 2 while taking the No. 3 match by default. Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Westside) and Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) teamed up for a 6-2 victory over Shiori Takdeda and Milana Dejanovic at No. 2 Doubles, while long before her singles heroics, Tanner paired with Alexandra Popa (Glenview, Ill. / Glenbrook South) for a 6-4 win over Maja Dodik and Jordane Dookie at No. 1.
• The doubles point was already in the Beacons pocket, and Valpo won No. 6 Singles by default with Drake playing shorthanded. However, the Bulldogs won the two singles matches that ended in straight sets, prevailing at No. 2 and No. 4 to level the team score at 2-2.
• The three remaining singles matches all went to third sets, with Valpo needing to prevail on two of the three courts to come away with the victory. Silva won the second set 6-4 at No. 1 to force a third, but dropped the third set, allowing Drake to take a 3-2 lead in the match.
• In the No. 5 Singles match, Andrea Delgado (Richmond, Texas / Foster [Dallas Baptist]) outdid Dejanovic 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 to even the team match at 3-3.
• That's when the Courts of NWI turned its collective attention to the No. 3 Singles court, where Tanner rose to the occasion. She lost a hair-splitting first set 7-6(4) on a tiebreak, but kept her composure throughout the match, coming back to beat Takeda in tight second and third sets, 7-5, 6-4. She trailed 0-5 in the second set before rattling off seven consecutive games.

Inside the Match

• Silva recorded her 56^th career doubles win, moving into sole possession of third in program history. She broke a tie with Mara Sonkin (2000-2004) and will finish her collegiate career behind only Claire and Olivia Czerwonka in the Valpo doubles record book.
• Silva is up to 124 career wins, combined between singles and doubles. She has already clinched second in program history in career singles victories.
• Delgado continued her strong season, attaining her team-leading 17^th singles victory against just six losses. She is 15-3 in dual play and 4-2 in conference action.
• Tanner upped her season total to nine with the clinching victory.
• The Beacons continued to play matches decided by the slimmest of margins, as this was the team's eighth match decided by a 4-3 score this season. Valpo improved to 4-4 in those matches. Four of the team's six conference matches have been decided by 4-3 scores, and Valpo had dropped the first three of those before securing Saturday's victory.
• This marked Valpo's first win over Drake in program history. Valpo was previously 0-8 all-time against the Bulldogs.

Up Next
The Beacons (11-8, 1-5 MVC) will close out the season on Sunday at 9 a.m. at The Courts of Northwest Indiana vs. UNI. Seniors Moira Silva and Madi Rogers will be recognized in a post-match Senior Day ceremony. In addition, this will be the final match of head coach Bob Modesto's 36-year career of coaching tennis, concluding his seven seasons leading Valpo's program.