Jhaveri Rallies for Dramatic Victory, Helps Valpo Edge Bradley

Friday, April 7, 2023

Demi Jhaveri lifted the team to a dramatic victory with her win at No. 3 singles.

As the Valparaiso University tennis team played the latest in a season filled with tight matches, Demi Jhaveri (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake) was ready for the moment. The senior rallied from down 2-5 to force a set tiebreak in the third set, and eventually won a lengthy tiebreak to clinch the team victory on Friday afternoon at The Courts of Northwest Indiana.

How It Happened

The match started on a high note as Valpo prevailed on the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles courts to take the doubles point. Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) and Moira Silva (Houston, Texas / Houston Tennis Academy) topped Madalena Andrade and Kirstin Hailey 6-2 at No. 1, while Eleanor Chapman (East Sussex, England / Eastbourne College [UT Martin]) and Jhaveri teamed up to win their match 6-1 at No. 3.
The doubles point proved pivotal as the two teams eventually split the six singles matches right down the middle with Valpo winning at the top three spots.
The No. 1 and No. 2 matches were quick Valpo victories. Czerwonka posted a “double bagel” victory over Anna Belogliadova at No. 1 singles as she did not drop a game.
Silva was very dominant in the No. 2 singles matches as well, beating Mariia Pukhina 6-2, 6-1.
Bradley picked up wins at No. 5 and No. 6 to trim the Valpo lead to 3-2 in the team score. The No. 3 and No. 4 matches were three-set affairs with Valpo needing to win one of those matches to win the match.
After taking the first set 6-2 at No. 3 singles, Jhaveri dropped six straight games in the second set and trailed 2-5 in the third set. She roared back to force a tiebreak in the third set, and eventually outlasted Kirstin Hailey 15-13 in the tiebreak.
That proved to be the deciding victory of the match as Bradley won 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 in a tight No. 4 singles match.

Inside the Match

By earning its 11^th win of the season, Valpo equaled last season’s win total, which was the program’s highest win total since 2007.
This was Valpo’s 10^th match of the spring decided by either a 4-3 or 5-2 score and the seventh time the team has played a match decided by the slimmest of margins.
Czerwonka and Silva achieved their 17^th doubles win of the year, jumping into a tie for seventh in program history for doubles wins in a single season. They are tied with Monika Danko and Mara Sonkin’s 2001-2002 total.
This was Czerwonka’s 62^nd career doubles win, second in program history behind only her sister Claire (72).
Jhaveri’s singles win was her 11^th of the season and the 41^st of her career.
Silva picked up her 18^th win of the season, moving into a tie for ninth in program history for singles wins in a single season. She is now even with Christina Scala (2001-2002) and Amanda Tabanera (2021-2022) on the program’s single-season singles wins list.
Czerwonka garnered her 17^th singles win of the campaign and her 63^rd career triumph. She surpassed Rachel Janssen (2003-2007) for sole possession of second in program history and is two wins away from tying Kate Evangelist’s program-record of 65 career singles wins.