The UNI women’s tennis team is nearing the finals days of their season. They looked to get their first conference win of the season this past weekend as they hosted both Bradley and Illinois State. 

Bradley came into Waterloo on Saturday. The Braves had won each of the previous four matchups between the two teams. Things opened well for UNI this time around as Darta Dalecka won the first singles match of the day. Sophomore Andrijana Brkic would later join her in the winner’s column. And yet, they would be the only Panthers to place there, with the Braves winning the other four singles matches, along with all three doubles matches, which netted them the final point to go along with a 5-2 victory. 

Sunday’s match marked the final home event for the Panthers as they welcomed conference powerhouse Illinois State into the Black Hawk Tennis Center. Even though it was a different day with a different opponent, the story played out the same with the Panthers losing 5-2. They were swept in the doubles matches again and were only able to get two wins in the singles as freshman Lorena Cardoso and senior Olivia Fain got wins over their Redbird opponents. 

The Panthers celebrated Senior Day as well on Sunday, with Fain and Emma Carr being honored for their careers. Fain won the MVC doubles championship in 2019 and will be going to Iowa University to complete her graduate degree. Carr will be staying at UNI for her graduate program and will use her extra year of eligibility received from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Panthers will have one last trip for their regular season as they head to Springfield, Missouri next weekend to take on Missouri State and Drury University. After that, they’ll compete in the annual MVC Championship in Des Moines.