MADISON, Wis. – The Drake women's tennis team edged the Wisconsin Badgers, 4-3, Saturday (Jan. 24) afternoon at the Nielsen Tennis Center.
Senior Nell Boyd (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and junior Maddie Johnson (Onalaska, Wis.) secured the doubles points for Drake (1-0) as the veterans defeated Lauren Chypyha/Maria Avgerinos, 6-3. Junior Jordan Eggleston (LaQuinta, Calif.) and freshman Adrienne Jensen (Iowa City, Iowa) opened doubles action with a 6-0 victory over Sydney Rider/Ekaterina Stepanova.
“Doubles came down to our upperclassman staying composed under pressure,” said Drake head coach Sadhaf Pervez. “Tess and Maddie clinched our win today in two sets. This was our first match for our freshmen today and I am proud to say that they controlled their nerves like upperclassman. We have a tough schedule ahead so I am happy with our start, but we still have a lot to work on.”
Johnson collected the Bulldogs' first singles victory as she beat Kesley Grambeau, 6-3, 6-2. Freshman Tess Herder (Lee's Summit, Mo.), playing in the No. 2 slot, earned the third point of the match as she knocked off Sydney Rider, 6-3, 6-1. A forfeit by Ekaterina Stepanova in the No. 6 match against Eggleston clinched Drake's second-straight win over the Badgers.
"The Purdue Invite really helped us to prepare for this match,” Pervez said. “We knew Wisconsin was going to be ready for us this year because of our match from last year. I told my players the match will be decided by which team seizes the moment and if we play with the intensity we have shown in practice and stay composed, we would pull the match out.”
Drake opens its home schedule with a doubleheader on Jan. 31 as Truman State (11:30 a.m.) and Nebraska Omaha (6 p.m.) visit the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
Drake 4, Wisconsin 3
Singles competition
1. Lauren Chypyha (WIS) def. Ante, Mariel (DU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Herder, Tess (DU) def. Sydney Rider (WIS) 6-3, 6-1
3. Johnson, Maddie (DU) def. Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) 6-3, 6-2
4. Maria Avgerinos (WIS) def. Boyd, Nell (DU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
5. Lauren Burich (WIS) def. Jensen, Adrienne (DU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Eggleston, Jordan (DU) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (WIS), by forfeit
Doubles competition
1. Lauren Burich/Kelsey Grambeau (WIS) def. Ante, Mariel/Herder, Tess (DU) 6-2
2. Boyd, Nell/Johnson, Maddie (DU) def. Lauren Chypyha/Maria Avgerinos (WIS) 6-3
3. Eggleston, Jordan/Jensen, Adrienne (DU) def. Sydney Rider/Ekaterina Stepanova, 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,3,2,5,4)
