The Valparaiso University tennis team picked up right where it left off after a successful 2021-2022 season by beginning the 2022-2023 campaign with a pair of victories on Saturday at the Valpo Tennis Complex. The Beacons started the day with a 7-0 victory over Holy Cross during the morning match before dispatching Olivet Nazarene 6-0 in the afternoon.

 How It Happened -Holy Cross (Ind.)

• Valpo jumped out to an early lead by capturing wins on all three doubles courts. In their first match as a No. 1 doubles tandem, Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and freshman Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) did not drop a game in a 6-0 victory. Amanda Tabanera (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia) and Allison McConnell (Westland, Mich. / Churchill) dropped just one game in their triumph at No. 2, while Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) and Elizabeth Sobieski (Muskego, Wis. / Muskego) were on the right side of a 6-2 score at No. 3.
• Czerwonka was the first player off the court when singles got underway, as she succumbed just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the top spot. Silva also made quick work of her opponent in her collegiate singles debut, earning a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2.
• Tabanera earned the victory that cemented the team win when she capped off a 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 3.
• At the No. 6 singles spot, Sobieski completed a successful collegiate debut by prevailing 6-0, 6-3. Mia Bertino (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) notched a “double bagel” at No. 5 with a 6-0, 6-0 win, while Jhaveri battled to a 7-6(3) triumph in the first set before pulling away for a 6-2 win in Set 2 to close out the match.

How It Happened – Olivet Nazarene

• Czerwonka and Silva did not drop a game in either match on Saturday. They prevailed 6-0 over ONU before Sobieski and McConnell made it a clean sweep of doubles with a 6-1 win at No. 2.
• All four singles matches that were played to their completion were dominated by Valpo, with the Beacons taking all eight sets and dropping just two total games. Czerwonka (No. 1 singles) and Bertino (No. 5) picked up “double bagel” victories, while Silva won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 and Jhaveri came out on top 6-0, 6-1 at No. 4.

Inside the Matches

• Czerwonka’s singles win in the first match of the day was the 47^th of her collegiate career, a mark that ranks ninth in program history. She reached 48 by winning the afternoon match. She is narrowly behind Jill Dierberg (2002-2006, 49) for eighth on the program’s all-time list.
• On the doubles side, Czerwonka moved into a tie for seventh with her 46^th career victory in the morning match. She later passed Christina Scala (2001-2005) and Dierberg (2002-2006) by winning in the afternoon, moving into a tie with Kate Evangelist (2003-2007) for sixth with 47 career doubles wins.
• Czerwonka is approaching the 100-win threshold, combined between doubles and singles, for her collegiate career. She is currently at 94 total wins.
• Jhaveri boosted her win total to 32, while Bertino hauled in her 22^nd and 23^rd singles wins.
• During the morning session, Tabanera moved her career singles win total to 39. The standard to crack the top-10 in program history is 45.

Up Next

The Beacons will return to competition on Saturday, Sept. 10 against Grinnell College, closing out a string of three straight home matches to open the fall with a 3 p.m. first serve at the Valpo Tennis Complex.