The Valparaiso University tennis team enjoyed a victorious Saturday at the Redbird Invitational in Normal, Ill., as the Beacons came away winners in two of their three doubles matches and four of their seven singles showdowns. In addition, a pair of Beacons will play in championship matches on Sunday.  

How It Happened

• Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) punched her ticket to the Flight 2 singles championship round by earning a victory for the second straight day. Her path to the finals featured a lopsided 6-1, 6-1 victory over Marquette’s Giulia Turconi.
• Mia Bertino (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) also improved to 2-0 on the weekend in Flight 7 singles, topping Lizzie Barlow of Saint Louis 10-7 on a third-set tiebreak. Bertino won the opening set 6-3 before dropping the middle set 4-6. Her Set 3 win secured her place in the Flight 7 singles championship match, which is slated for Sunday.
• Two of Valpo’s doubles teams prevailed on Saturday. Isabella Schoolcraft (Bargersville, Ind. / Center Grove) and Amanda Tabanera (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia) whitewashed Stefan/Barlow of Saint Louis 8-0 to advance to the consolation final of the Flight 3 doubles draw.
• In Flight 4 doubles, Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) and Allison McConnell (Westland, Mich. / Churchill) collected an 8-4 victory over Saint Louis’ Cheema/Sexton to advance to Sunday’s consolation final.
• In Flight 4 singles, Tabanera was a straight-set winner over Chicago State’s Sofia Sedovich 6-3, 6-1. Valpo also earned a straight-set triumph in Flight 9 singles, where McConnell moved on to the consolation finals by downing Danina Hughes of Chicago State 6-0, 6-1.

Inside the Match

• Olivia increased her career singles win total to 27, while Bertino grabbed her ninth career singles victory. Both players are a flawless 3-0 in singles action this fall.
• All three Valpo doubles teams have notched at least one victory this weekend.
• Tabanera is up to 22 career singles wins, while McConnell picked up her first of the season and the fourth of her young career.

Up Next 

The tournament will conclude on Sunday, Sept. 19 in Normal, Ill. Play is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. Multiple Beacons will be in action including Bertino and Olivia competing for championships in their respective draws.