The doubles play of seniors Kathleen Hebble (Sellersburg, Ind. / Silver Creek) and Paige Heuer (Munster, Ind. / Munster) remained a bright spot for the Valparaiso University women’s tennis team on Saturday morning, as the duo picked up a victory in a 7-0 loss to Evansville.

How It Happened

• Hebble and Heuer squeaked out a 7-6(5) victory, beating Evansville’s Andjela Brgulijan and Daria Pentsova at No. 1 doubles.
• The Crusaders did corral two other wins in matches that were played but did not impact the scoring. Morgan Paras (Indianapolis, Ind. / Bishop Chatard) bounced Nicoli Pereira 6-4, 6-2 in singles, while Jordan Kopfer (Eagan, Minn. / Eastview and Halle Roach (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) teamed up for a 6-4 doubles win.
• Evansville won the remaining doubles matches to take the doubles point. Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Sun Prairie) and Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) lost to Theodora Soldatou and Chieko Yamada 6-0 at No. 2, while Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) and Erin Staal (Grand Haven, Mich. / Grand Haven) scratched out one game in a 6-1 loss to Diana Tkachenko and Nicoli Pereira at No. 3.
• The first single court complete was No. 2, where Heuer was on the wrong end of a 6-0, 6-1 match against Tkachenko.
• The Crusaders found themselves in a 3-0 hole in the match when No. 1 singles went final. Yamada defeated Hebble 6-1, 6-3.
• Modesto dropped No. 3 singles to Pentsova 6-2, 6-2, while Sysouvanh also suffered a 6-2, 6-2 setback at No. 4 against Andrea Pascual-Larri.
• Kopfer kept it close in the first set, losing 6-4 to Theodora Soldatou, before Kopfer fell 6-2 in Set 2.
• The closest singles match of the day came at No. 6, where Wind fell to Brgulijan 6-4, 7-6(4).

Inside the Match

• Hebble and Heuer improved their record to 8-6 on the season with the win. They are 3-2 in the spring with wins over Dayton, Western Michigan and Evansville. The Valpo No. 1 doubles duo has notched back-to-back wins.  
• The Crusaders drop to 0-5 as a team with the defeat, while Evansville ups its record to 2-3 with the win.
• Evansville was coming off a tight 4-3 loss to Big Ten foe Indiana.

Next Up

Valpo will utilize its home facility for the first time since Jan. 21 on Friday, Feb. 24. The Crusaders will welcome IUPUI for an 11 a.m. match.  The contest begins a busy day of action at the Courts of Northwest Indiana as the men’s team hosts UIC later in the day.