Drake women’s tennis picked up two home wins against the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs first took on UNI on Friday, March 4. The team played against UWM on Saturday, March 5.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start against UNI, winning 6-3 on all of three doubles matches.
Heading into singles, sophomore Darinka Stepan was the first Bulldog to get a singles win for Drake after winning her match at singles five. Senior Daria Walczak got the second singles point for Drake after a quick 6-1, 6-1 win over her opponent at singles three.
Senior Liza Petushkova had a quick first set at the singles one spot. She got off to a 6-0 lead and then battled through the second set to win 7-5.
Sophomore Ines Stephani was able to capture a quick win at singles two. Stephani had a close first set but was able to get a 7-6 win. She then won the second set 6-0 and got another point for Drake.
Junior Rebecaa Ehn at singles six won her match in a close three-set battle. After dropping a close first set 4-6, Ehn battled back to win the second set 6-3. She also went on to win the tie-breaker match, allowing Drake to have a 6-0 lead over UNI.
First-year Mille Haagensen captured the last point for the Bulldogs after winning her match in three sets. The Bulldogs took down the UNI Panthers 7-0 to capture their first conference win of the season.
The next day, the team took on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Bulldogs once again got off to a quick start, winning the doubles point and getting a 1-0 lead going into the singles matches.
Stepan was able to get the first singles point for Drake after winning her match 6-4, 6-2. Walczak was also able to get another win at singles three, allowing the Bulldogs to have a 3-0 lead over UWM.
“I was really happy that the team was able to get two home wins this weekend,” Walczak said. “I am also proud that I was able to contribute to the team by getting two singles wins.”
The Bulldogs also got a win at singles four with Haagensen as well as at singles six from Ehn. Petushkova got another win at singles one. After cruising through the first set, Petuskova took the match in the third set to get another point for the Bulldogs.
After these two home wins, the Bulldogs improved their record to 7-3 heading into their next match against the University Wisconsin-Madison.
“I’m really proud of the team and how we all competed,” Haagensen said. “I think it’s great that we were able to get two more wins. It’s a great feeling to be able to compete at home and an even better feeling to win at home.”
The Bulldogs lost their next three games, all 4-0, against Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University. The team currently has a 7-6 overall record. Drake will play against Creighton and Omaha on March 26 and 27 in Omaha, Neb.
