Sunday, March 29, 2009

Valparaiso returned to Horizon League action on Sunday morning, but dropped a 7-0 match to YoungstownState at the Boardman Tennis Center in Boardman, Ohio.

The Penguins opened the match sweeping all three doubles contests.  Gretchen Cloern and Sarah Lynce were 8-2 victors over Molly Keifer (Richmond, Ind./Richmond H.S.) and Jenny Schwartz (Aurroa, Ill./West Aurora H.S.) at the top of the lineup.  Nicole Haralambopoulos and Lauren Hankle teamed for an 8-1 win over Kim Sajevic (Woodbury, Minn./Woodbury H.S.) and Katie Bilyeu (Terre Haute, Ind./South Vigo H.S.) at the second  spot while Anna Volkova and Tanisha Welch were 8-0 victors over Camill Burden (Richmond, Ind./Richhmond H.S.) and Jackie O’Reilly (DePere, Wis./DePere H.S.) at third doubles.

Youngstown State (6-9, 2-2 Horizon) won all six singles contests in straight sets.  Lynch was a 6-4, 6-4 winner at number one singles against Sajevic while Hankle downed Keifer 6-2, 7-5 at the number two spot.  Volkova defeated Schwartz 6-4, 6-1 at third singles and Welch was a 6-1, 6-0 winner against Bilyeu at the fourth spot.  Cloern downed Stephanie York (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown H.S.) 6-4, 6-0 at fifth singles and Haralambopoulos topped Christine Antrobus (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead H.S.) 6-0, 6-0 to round out the lineup.

“We played well today against a tough lineup,” head coach Traci Young said.  “We will look to continue to play well again tomorrow.”

Valparaiso (1-11, 0-2) will continue its road trip on Monday afternoon as the Crusaders face Cleveland State.  First serve against the Vikings is set for 2 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio.