The Valparaiso University tennis team closed out the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships on Sunday as Olivia Czerwonka (Kenosha, Wis. / Saint Joseph Catholic Academy) made it back-to-back singles wins to round out the weekend, capturing fifth place in the Flight 1 draw. Her win was the highlight of the day for the Beacons as they finished up the event in Springfield, Mo.

How It Happened

• In Flight 1 Singles, Czerwonka dropped just one game en route to a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Murray State’s Valeria Chaikovskaia in the fifth-place tilt.  
• In Flight 7 Singles, Lillian Kelly (Fullerton, Calif. / Fullerton Union) finished as the runner-up, dropping Sunday’s title match to Paola Campigotto of Murray State.
• In Flight 3 Singles, Mia Bertino (Lockport, Ill. / Joliet Catholic) finished sixth after falling in Sunday’s fifth-place match to Juliette Robinson of Missouri State.
• In Flight 4 Singles, Sydney State (Brisbane, Australia / Tyler JC) finished fourth after a setback to Bradley’s Kirstin Hailey in the third-place match.
• In Flight 6 Singles, Jolene Fernandes (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) finished fourth, falling to Zara Ryan of UIC in the third-place match on Sunday, a match that featured a tight first set.
• In Flight 3 Doubles, Bertino/Fernandes incurred an 8-5 defeat to Bradley’s Belogliadova/Hildreth in the third-place match. The Beacon tandem finished fourth in their doubles flight.

Inside the Matches

• With her pair of singles wins this weekend, Czerwonka elevated her program-record career total to 74.
• Czerwonka is one win away from becoming just the sixth player in school history (men’s and women’s) to record 75 career singles wins, joining the men’s tennis quintet of Jeffrey Schorsch (2013-2017), Kyle Dunn (2013-2017), Charlie Emhardt (2013-2017), Dave Bacalla (2013-2017) and Chad Kissell (2015-2019).

Up Next

The ITA Midwest Regional will commence on Thursday in East Lansing, Mich.