Senior Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and freshman Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) teamed up for a conference-opening victory at No. 1 doubles, while both players were also triumphant in their matches at the top of the singles lineup as the Valparaiso University tennis team started Missouri Valley Conference play on Saturday at Murray State. The Racers captured the team win, taking the match 5-2 at the indoor Kenlake Tennis Center in Hardin, Ky.

How It Happened

• Murray State won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take the doubles point, but Valpo’s top tandem of Czerwonka and Silva won a thrilling showdown at No. 1 on a tiebreak. They edged Jordina Font and Natalie Slezakova 7-6(1).
• The success at the top of the lineup continued in singles, as both Silva and Czerwonka came out on top in tightly-contested matches. Silva recovered nicely from dropping a competitive first set to beat Emma Honore 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2.
• At the top singles spot, Czerwonka engaged in a three-set showdown with Sarah Bureau and battled her way to a winning effort – 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.
• Murray State picked up wins at the remaining singles spots. Half of the singles matches went the distance with the No. 5 faceoff between Eleanor Chapman (East Sussex, England / Eastbourne College [UT Martin / Lipscomb]) and Paola Campigotto also requiring a third set.

Inside the Match

• Silva upped her team-leading singles win total to 16 against just four losses. She is one win away from cracking the top 10 in single-season program history.
• Czerwonka bettered her season singles record to 15-3, including an 11-1 mark in dual matches. She now owns 61 career singles wins, the third most in program history and one away from moving into a tie for second.
• Czerwonka and Silva earned their 14^th doubles win of the year. They are two wins away from climbing into the top 10 on the program’s single-season doubles wins list.
• The doubles win for Czerwonka was No. 59 in her career. That ranks second in program history behind only her sister Claire (72).
• Czerwonka beat Bureau, who was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer team a year ago.
• Silva’s win came over Honore, who was an All-Southland Conference First Team performer while playing for Texas A&M Corpus Christi before arriving at Murray State this year.

Up Next

The Beacons (9-3, 0-1) will close out the opening weekend of conference action by battling Belmont at noon on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn. The match will be held indoors at Ensworth Tennis Center.