The UNI women’s tennis team faced the Drake Bulldogs on Friday, March 4. They came into the match 2-7 on the season, but having won two of their last four games. Drake came into the matchup 5-3, having won four of their last five games. It was the MVC conference opener for both teams.

The match began with Drake taking the doubles match. All three matches ended with 6-3 scores. In the No. 1 singles match, UNI’s Darta Dalecka dropped the first set 6-0, but nearly took the second set, falling 7-5. In the No. 2 singles match, Lorena Cardoso fell in a tight 7-6 set, then lost the second set 6-0 to give the point to Drake. In the No. 3 and 5 singles matches, Emma Carr and Thaissa Moreira fell in matching 6-1 sets. The Panthers had their best performances in the No. 4 and 6 matches. Andrijana Brkic and Issa Sullivan both won their first sets. Brkic won 7-6, and Sullivan won 6-4. However, both lost their next two sets. Before finishing their third sets, the overall score of the match was 5-0, so the games went unfinished, giving Drake the 5-0 win.

UNI’s next match is on Sunday, April 3, against Valparaiso, which will be their second MVC matchup.