The Valparaiso University women’s tennis team rounded out a weekend of back-to-back matches in the state capital on Sunday afternoon, falling 6-3 at the University of Indianapolis. The Greyhounds are ranked 10^th nationally and first regionally in Division II. After the defeat, Valpo stands at 3-3 through six matches.

How It Happened

• Freshmen Jelena Vujanic (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) and Claire Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) played together at No. 1 doubles for the second straight match, and this time came away victorious, 8-5 over Hanna Volikova and Alina Kislickaya.
• Vujanic continued to play well, closing out a perfect weekend in Indy at No. 2 singles. Her match with Florence Renard was about as tight as it gets, as each of the first two sets went to a 6-6 tiebreaker with Vujanic taking the first and dropping the second. She captured the match by virtue of a tight 10-8 third-set tiebreak.
• The other Crusader to win in singles competition was sophomore Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Sun Prairie), who got past Mara Hofstetter in three sets at No. 4. Sysouvanh won the opening set 6-3 before dropping the second by that same score. She took the match with a 6-1 win in the third.
• All three doubles matches came down to the wire. Sysouvanh and senior Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) fell 8-5 at No. 2 to Renard and Chloe Weihs. In addition, sophomore Jordan Kopfer (Eagan, Minn. / Eastview) and junior Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) suffered a 9-7 setback at No. 2 doubles against Pam Brito Torres and Hofstetter.
• Valpo’s closest loss in singles play was at No. 1, where Volikova rallied from a set down to defeat Czerwonka 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
• Kislickaya beat Modesto in straight sets at No. 3 (6-2, 6-1), while the Greyhounds also earned a straight set win at No. 5, with Weihs topping Wind 7-6(5), 6-0.  Halle Roach (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) dropped her No. 6 singles match to Brito Torres 6-1, 6-1.  

Inside the Match

• Vujanic extended her team lead in singles wins this season, becoming the first Crusader in double figures by boosting her mark to 10-2.
• Sysouvanh notched her sixth singles win of the season and the 11^th of her Crusader career.
• Freshman classmates Vujanic and Czerwonka picked up their first win as a doubles tandem. They played together for the first time on Saturday at Butler. Vujanic has five doubles wins overall, while Czerwonka is tied for the team lead with seven.

Up Next

For the fifth time in the first six matches of the spring, the Crusaders will play an instate opponent on Saturday. They’ll head to Ball State for a 3:30 p.m. CT start against the Cardinals in Muncie.