The Valparaiso University women’s tennis team enjoyed a 5-2 victory over Lewis University on Sunday at Five Star Tennis Center in Plainfield, Ill. The Crusaders nailed down their fourth victory of the season, the first time they’ve done so since 2011-12.

How It Happened

• Each doubles match counted as its own point in the team scoring, with the Crusaders coming away with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Both matches were tightly-contested, as Claire Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and Jelena Vujanic (Elk Grove Village, Ill. / Elk Grove) picked up an 8-5 victory over Oana Carmen Trus and Dora Andrejszki, while Meg Modesto (Chesterton, Ind. / Chesterton) and Erin Stall (Grand Haven, Mich. / Grand Haven) were 8-6 winners over Megan Conlin and Hailey Bruining.
• Lewis prevailed at No. 2 doubles to make the team score 2-1, but Randi Wind (Park Ridge, Ill. / Maine South) and Halle Roach (Libertyville, Ill. / Libertyville) won by default at No. 5 and No. 6 singles respectively, so the Crusaders (4-5) entered singles competition knocking on the door of clinching the win over the Flyers (2-2).
• They did just that when Vujanic cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles. Lewis won at No. 3 in the only other singles match that finished. The No. 1 and No. 4 singles matches went unfinished.

Inside the Match

• It’s only Feb. 18 and Vujanic already has her 12^th win of the season. This marks the highest win total by a Valpo player since the 2006-2007 campaign.  
• The Crusaders have already nailed down their winningest season in six years.
• Czerwonka and Vujanic upped their record to 5-1 as a doubles pair. Czerwonka is the team leader in doubles wins with nine.
• Modesto and Stall improved to 2-0 when playing doubles together this season.

Up Next

Valpo will enjoy three weeks without a match as the next time the Crusaders compete will be on Monday, March 12 at 4 p.m. at Chaminade University of Honolulu as part of the team’s spring break trip to Hawaii.