Three members of the Valparaiso University tennis team went undefeated in singles as the Beacons split singles matches against conference foes Illinois State and Bradley and took two of three in doubles against Butler on Saturday's opening day of the Redbird Hidden Duals in Normal, Ill.
 
How It Happened

• Two of Valpo's three doubles pairs came away victorious in matches against Butler. The tandem of Alexandra Popa (Glenview, Ill. / Glenbrook South) and Lacey Tanner (Fort Pierce, Fla. / Florida Virtual School) earned a 6-3 victory over Lauren Cook and Brooke Arrington, while Brynn Steven (Wichita, Kan. / Bishop Carroll) and Cathy Beckmann (Indianapolis, Ind. / Bishop Chatard) claimed a 6-3 win over Sienna Mills and Julia Uyesato.
• The Beacons split six singles matches against Bradley with Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Andrea Delgado (Richmond, Texas / Foster [Dallas Baptist]) and Beckmann all picking up victories. Fernandes pulled away in Set 2 after winning a close first set for a 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Amber Sharp. Delgado dropped just three total games in a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Jada Iverson. Beckmann ran off six straight in the second set to clinch a 6-3, 6-0 win over Denver Johnson. One of the three losses to the Braves came on a third-set breaker.
• The Beacons also split six singles matches with a traditionally-strong Illinois State squad with Fernandes, Delgado and Beckmann once again all three taking their matches in straight sets. Fernandes topped Molly Carlberg 6-4, 6-4, while Delgado's win was 6-3, 6-3 over Ella McLeod and Beckmann bettered Anna Houpt 6-1, 6-2.

Inside the Match

• Valpo split six matches against an Illinois State team that went 18-7 overall and 5-2 in league play before winning the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament last year.
• Fernandes, Delgado and Beckmann all had 2-0 days in singles, and Beckmann had a 3-0 day including doubles.
• Beckmann has a combined record of 5-0 in singles and doubles so far in her collegiate career.
• Delgado improved to 21-6 in singles in her Valpo career.
• Fernandes now has 39 career wins in singles.

Thoughts from Head Coach James Gleghorn
"We played really well today. We started off by beating Butler in two of three doubles matches. In singles, we split the day's matches with Illinois State and Bradley. We are looking forward to doubles matches against Illinois State and Bradley in the morning. We played even with Illinois State, who won the conference tournament last year and competed in the NCAA Tournament. The team is really starting to understand the changes we have been making in their games. We are continuing to work toward next week's conference championship for singles and doubles. If we continue to improve, we have a great opportunity to win a lot of matches."
 
"Jolene, Andrea and Cathy won all of their singles matches today and Cathy continues to be undefeated in singles and doubles this season. She moved up to No. 2 doubles and played extremely well."
"I am really proud of the women and the effort they showed today. If we can continue this level tomorrow in the doubles, it will be a fantastic weekend."
Up Next
The Beacons will round out the Redbird Hidden Duals beginning on Sunday in Normal, Ill. Valpo will play Illinois State in doubles at 9 a.m., Bradley in doubles at 9:45 a.m. and Butler in singles at 11:30 a.m.