Drake’s women’s tennis team opened Missouri Valley Conference play up on March 18, hosting the University of Illinois at Chicago Flames. 

The team got off to a quick start at doubles two, as Oriana-Parkins Godwin and Ines Stepani secured a 6-0 win. The next pair to finish doubles three resulted in a UIC win. With the doubles point on the line, Mille Haagenson and Darinka Stepan secured a tight 7-6 win at doubles one, resulting in the doubles point going to Drake. 

The dominance continued into singles, with Elizabete Klavisnka securing the first Drake point at singles four by a score of 7-5, 6-0. The next singles to finish, singles five, also resulted in a Drake win. 

Following the remainder of the singles matches, Drake managed a smooth 5-2 win over UIC, giving Drake a 1-0 record in MVC play early. 

“I think the team competed well throughout the whole match, even when it wasn’t going in our favor at different times in the match,” sophomore Yana Gaskell said following the match. “I’m glad we were able to get the job done and get a win from our first conference match.”

This past Saturday, Drake fell to Illinois State University. After opening the day by losing the doubles point, Drake went into the singles matches with a one point deficit. 

Drake failed to bounce back in singles, losing four of the six matches. Following the singles matches, Drake lost the match day by a score of 5-2. 

The following day, Drake traveled to Peoria to take on Bradley. Following the loss, the team was eager to bounce back with an MVC win. 

To open the matchup doubles three with Elizabeth Klavinska and Rebecca Ehn secured a 6-3 win over Bradley. Shortly thereafter, doubles two with Parkins-Godwin and Stephani secured the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Bradley. 

Drake’s success continued into singles, where the team went 4-2, bringing their total score on the day to 5-2, securing their second MVC win of the season. 

The team’s next matchup will come on April 1 against Missouri State.