The Valparaiso University tennis team competed in yet another tight match on Saturday afternoon at The Courts of Northwest Indiana, battling back after dropping the doubles point to win on four of the six singles courts and beat visiting Milwaukee by a 4-3 score in the final nonleague match of the season. The Beacons showed their depth by earning the win despite the majority of the team playing up a spot in the singles lineup due to an injury.

How It Happened

• Valpo’s No. 3 doubles tandem of Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) and Eleanor Chapman (East Sussex, England / Eastbourne College [UT Martin / Lipscomb]) earned a tightly-contested 7-5 win over Iva Stejskalova and Alice Shield.
• The Panthers won the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles duals to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
• After a flawless second set in which she did not drop a game, Olivia Czerwonka leveled the team score with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Babette Burgersdijk at No. 1 singles.
• Valpo took the lead in the match when Elizabeth Sobieski (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) beat Anouk Ma-Ajong 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. Sobieski stepped into the singles lineup on short notice when Moira Silva was injured during doubles.
• Milwaukee evened the team score at 2-2 when the No. 2 singles match went final, but Valpo went back in front as Amanda Tabanera (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia) polished off a 6-1, 6-4 win over Anika Tyler at No. 3.
• The Beacons clinched the team triumph with Mia Bertino’s (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) 6-2, 6-3 win over Sara Simonova at No. 5.
• The No. 4 singles match went to Milwaukee on a third-set tiebreak.

Inside the Match

• Bertino upped her season singles win total to 14 and her career mark to 35.
• Tabanera moved into a tie for ninth in program history for career singles wins with Jill Dierberg (2002-2006) by nailing down her 49^th.
• This was the fifth match of the season decided by a 4-3 score with Valpo improving to 3-2 in those matches.
• Czerwonka improved her season record to 16-4 in singles, upping her career singles win mark to 62. With that victory, she moved into a tie for second in program history for career singles wins, joining Rachel Janssen (2003-2007). Czerwonka is three wins away from tying and four from passing Kate Evangelist (2003-2007) for the program record for career singles wins.
• Sobieski improved to 6-1 in singles in dual matches this season.
• Valpo picked up the team’s 10^th win, one victory away from tying last season’s win total, which was the program’s highest total since 2007.

Up Next

The Beacons (10-4) will host UIC at noon on Sunday at the Courts of NWI.