On Saturday, April 12, the UNI women’s tennis team played host to Drake. UNI came into the dual match with an overall record of 5-12 and 2-3 in conference play, while Drake came into it with an overall record of  4-13 and 1-4 in conference play. In what was a close battle, the Panthers came away with the 4-3 victory. 

The match started with doubles competition, and UNIs Darta Dalecka and Lorena Cardoso went up against Elizabete Klavinska and Jess Caldicott of Drake. It was a dominant performance by Dalecka and Cardoso, as they took the 6-2 victory. The next match was closer. UNIs Kim Zizek and Andjela Raznatovic went up against Jessica Popiol and Shiori Takeda. They got the 6-4 victory, helping the Panthers get a 1-0 overall lead. The last doubles match had no bearing on the team totals, but Drake’s Jana Ruzic and Nicole Lee defeated Lasya Mylavarapu and Abbie Peterson. 

Following the three doubles matches were the singles matches. To start the singles matches, Drake’s Popiol got the 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Dalecka. Cardoso followed up Dalecka’s loss by giving the Panthers their first win of the day in singles. She defeated Klavinska 7-5, 6-7, 6-2. Zizek did not have as much success in her match, losing in straight sets to Takeda. Raznatovic dropped the first set of her match against Ruzic, but won the next two to secure the victory. The fifth match was won by Drake’s Caldicott when Kanyanut Sudsaard was unable to finish the match.

The way things shook out, the teams were tied 3-3 going into the final singles match of the day. The matchup featured Peterson of UNI going up against Lee. Peterson won the first set 6-2, but followed that up with a 3-6 loss in the second set. Peterson came through for the Panthers with a 6-4 victory in the final set, winning her match and helping the Panthers secure the 4-3 victory. 

The Panthers victory moved their record to 6-13 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Panthers will be back at it on Friday, April 18, when they host conference opponent Murray State.