A trio of Valparaiso University women’s tennis players rebounded after dropping Set 1 on Saturday at Flames Outdoor Tennis Courts in Chicago, coming away with victories in their respective singles matches. Freshman Claire Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy), junior Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) and sophomore Jordan Kopfer (Eagan, Minn. / Eastview) all captured dramatic triumphs to pave the way for a successful day. Czerwonka was named the individual singles champion of the event.

How It Happened

• Czerwonka was the only Crusader to enjoy a perfect winning in singles play, as she captured a victory at No. 1 for the second straight day. Czerwonka dropped the first set to Chicago State’s Mariya Kotsyuk 3-6, but then bounced back to take the match with a 6-1 win in Set 2 and a 10-8 triumph in the third set tiebreak.
• Modesto won in similar fashion in her No. 3 singles match against Lorea Gamboa. She dropped the opening set 2-6, but then came back with 6-2, 10-4 wins to take the match.
• Kopfer also rallied for a dramatic victory after losing a tight first set 6-7 (8-10). She rolled to 6-2, 10-5 victories to take the match.
• Junior Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) engaged in a competitive showdown with Alana Andrews at No. 5, but eventually fell 7-5, 6-3.
• Sophomore Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Sun Prairie) fell to Ieshah Shephard 6-1, 6-3 at No. 2.
• Valpo played UIC in the doubles portion on Saturday. The Flames won all four matches, but two of them were extremely tight. Freshmen Jelena Vujanic (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) and Wind lost 7-5 at No. 1, while Kopfer and Modesto lost by that same score at No. 3.

Inside the Match

• Czerwonka boosted her season total to five singles wins, taking over sole ownership of the team lead. She stands at 5-1 on the campaign.
• A day after beating a reigning second-team all-league performer from UIC, Czerwonka took down Kostyuk, a senior who was also second-team all-conference in the WAC a year ago.
• Czerwonka earned the outright singles championship in the UIC Fall Invitational, Georgie Sanders/Lejla Colic of UIC and Mariya Kostyuk/Iesha Shepherd of Chicago State were doubles co-champs.
• Modesto picked up her fourth win of the year and the 16^th of her Crusader career.
• Kopfer also captured her fourth triumph of the campaign and lifted her career total to eight.

Up Next

The Crusaders will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 7 for the first day of the MVC Individual Championships. The Missouri Valley Conference has fall individual championships in addition to the team championship in the spring. This year’s individual event will be held in Normal, Ill.