The UNI women’s tennis team was on the road Feb. 4 and 5 in Minneapolis, Minn. to take on the University of Minnesota and the University of North Dakota. UNI came in with an 0-2 record hoping for a bounce back win after falling in their first two matches. Minnesota came in with an 8-0 record, and North Dakota entered with a record of 1-5. 

In the first matchup which took place on Friday, Feb 4., UNI fell to Minnesota 7-0. Freshman Lorena Cardoso had the best performance for the Panthers, falling 6-4 and then 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match. UNI was forced to forfeit the No. 6 match because of player injuries. 

UNI had a stronger performance against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks the next day. In the No. 2 doubles match, Thaissa Moreira and Andrijana Brkic won 6-4 for the first UNI doubles win of the season. However, North Dakota won the other two doubles matches to take the point. In the singles matches, Cardoso once again had a strong performance in the No. 2 slot, but fell in sets of 6-2 and 6-4. Darta Dalecka also played well in her first singles match of the season, but fell 6-2 and 6-4 in the number one match. Issa Sullivan came the closest to winning a singles match, but ultimately lost 6-4 and 6-3 in the number five match. 

The Panthers will play five of their next six matches at home in Waterloo. The next match is on Friday, Feb. 18 against Saint Thomas, followed by a match with SIU-Edwardsville on Sunday, Feb 20. Both are home matches for UNI