The Valparaiso University tennis team saw its longest winning streak since 2006 come to a halt on Tuesday afternoon in Tampa, Fla. after a tight 4-3 setback to Hillsborough, the No. 1 ranked junior college program in the nation.

How It Happened

• Hillsborough’s top tandem of Arina Gamretkaia and Esmee Andresen – the No. 1 ranked doubles team in the JUCO nation – prevailed at the top spot without dropping a game. However, the doubles point was hanging in the balance as the matches at No. 2 and No. 3 were both cliffhangers.
• The Hawks won a No. 2 doubles match that proved pivotal in the team outcome of the match by a 6-4 final, before the Valpo tandem of Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) and Eleanor Chapman (East Sussex, England / Eastbourne College [UT Martin / Lipscomb]) finalized a 6-4 victory of its own at No. 3.
• Freshman Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) rolled to a straight-set win at No. 2 singles, beating Esmee Andresen 6-1, 6-3. That was the first singles match to finish, leveling the team match at 1-1.
• The No. 2 ranked player in the JUCO nation, Gamretkaia, won the No. 1 singles match thanks to pulling out a tight second set, 6-3, 7-5, to put Hillsborough ahead 2-1. Valpo got back to even when Amanda Tabanera (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia) garnered a 7-5, 6-2 win over Alicia Gomez at No. 4.
• Hillsborough won a No. 3 singles match that needed three full sets to determine a victor, and then the hosts eked out another tight match at No. 5, winning the sets 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the team victory.
• The final match of the day to finish came at No. 6, where Mia Bertino (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) bested Camilla Mitolo on a third-set tiebreak, 6-2, 4-6, 10-3.

Inside the Match

• Jhaveri and Chapman beat the No. 5 doubles team in the JUCO nation, Rocio Martinez Azcarraga and Paula Cabrer Pericas.
• Silva’s win at No. 2 singles came over Andresen, who is ranked 17^th nationally at the JUCO level.
• Tabanera defeated Gomez, who checks in at No. 9 nationally.
• Bertino also topped a nationally-ranked opponent in the JUCO ranks as Mitolo sits at No. 24.
• Tabanera picked up her 47^th career singles win, a total that ranks 10^th in program history.
• Silva bolstered her season singles win total to 14 thanks to Tuesday’s triumph. She is just three wins away from the top 10 in single-season program history.

Up Next

The Beacons (8-2) will look to get back in the win column when they round out their spring break trip by playing South Dakota on Wednesday in Florida. The match will get underway at 1:55 p.m.