The Valparaiso University women’s tennis team dropped Saturday’s match 5-2 at Northern Illinois. A pair of Crusader freshmen continued to win, as Claire Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and Jelena Vujanic (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) teamed up to win at No. 1 doubles and also prevailed in their respective singles matches.

How It Happened

• The Huskies (3-4) started the day by taking the doubles point, inching out to an early lead over the Crusaders (3-5). Maria Potsi and Lara Slisko beat Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) and Dao Sysouvanh (Sun Prairie, Wis. / Sun Prairie) at No. 2, while Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) and Halle Roach (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) fell to Abigail Dekkinga and Brodie Walker at No. 3.
• The Crusaders did pick up one win in doubles, with the aforementioned freshman combo teaming up for a 6-3 triumph over Thisuri Molligoda and Evelyn Youel.
• The first singles match to finish was at No. 6, where Erin Staal (Grand Haven, Mich. / Grand Haven) fell to Walker in straight sets, allowing the Huskies to build a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Vujanic picked up a convincing win at No. 2 singles, topping Potsi 6-1, 6-1.
• Northern Illinois clinched the match with wins at No. 3 and 5. Dekkinga got the best of Modesto 6-4, 6-2, while Wind came up short against Slisko 7-6(1), 6-0.  
• Czerwonka nailed down a 6-2, 6-3 win over Molligoda at the top singles spot, then Youel topped Sysouvanh 6-3, 6-4 in the last match in action at No. 4.

Inside the Match

• Czerwonka accumulated her 10^th singles win on the season to improve her mark to 10-6. She ranks second on the team behind only Vujanic, who boosted her record to 11-3 on Saturday. For comparison, before Wind’s 11 wins last season, the Crusaders hadn’t had anyone reach a double-figure singles win total since 2006-2007.
• The win for Czerwonka and Vujanic at No. 1 doubles allowed them to improve to 4-1 as a pair. Czerwonka has a team-high eight doubles wins on the season, while Vujanic owns six.

Up Next

Valpo will play the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. CT against Lewis University. The match will be held in Plainfield, Ill.