The Valparaiso University women’s tennis team picked up two singles victories and one doubles triumph in a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee at the Valpo Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders hadn’t won more than one singles match in any of their first five Horizon League contests, but have now picked up multiple singles wins in back-to-back league matches.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders (2-15, 1-6 Horizon) fell at No. 1 doubles as Kathleen Hebble (Sellersburg, Ind. / Silver Creek) and Paige Heuer (Munster, Ind. / Munster) were on the wrong end of a 6-0 decision against Alyssa Straub and Berta Masdeval Masip of Milwaukee (9-12, 3-4 Horizon).
• Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) and Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) prevailed at No. 2 doubles on a tiebreak over Labina Petrovska and Hayley Marshall 7-6 (6-4). However, the Panthers grabbed the doubles point by virtue of Nicole Clarke and Eszter Zador’s 6-3 win over Morgan Paras (Indianapolis, Ind. / Bishop Chatard) and Erin Staal (Grand Haven, Mich. / Grand Haven) at No. 3.
• Singles play started unfavorably as the top two spots, which were the first to finish, both belonged to Milwaukee. Hebble fell 6-0, 6-1 at No. 1 and Heuer lost 6-0, 6-3 at No. 2.
• Jordan Kopfer (Eagan, Minn. / Eastview) provided a closer match, but she too fell, losing 6-2, 6-2 to Straub at No. 4, securing the team win for the Panthers.
• The bottom of the lineup came through for the Crusaders for the second straight day. Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) took care of Clarke 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6, while Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Sun Prairie) picked up a 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 10-6 win over Marshall in a three-set thriller at No. 5.
• Modesto played a competitive match at No. 3, but fell to Masdeval Masip 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

Inside the Match

• Wind corralled her team-leading 10^th singles victory of the year. She becomes the first Valpo player since Kate Avangelist in 2005-06 to post a double-figure singles win total.
• Wind and Modesto improved to 2-5 as a doubles team this season. Both players picked up their first Horizon League doubles win of the year.  
• Sysouvanh has won back-to-back singles matches to lift her season win total to three. She went 2-0 in league play this weekend after dropping her first five league showdowns.

Next Up

The Crusaders will host Chicago State on Tuesday afternoon in nonleague play. The match is slated to get underway at 1 p.m.