The Bradley tennis team entered last weekend at 2-2 and exited with one win and one loss. They hosted 1-1 Western Illinois and 2-6 Eastern Illinois last Saturday in Peoria.
The Braves started the day off strong by earning the doubles point against Western Illinois thanks to victories at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. The duo of freshman Sandra Maletin and sophomore Natalia Barbery won 6-4 in the No. 1 slot. Senior Alexa Brandt and junior Malini Wijesinghe won 6-2.
The Braves then went on to pick up three singles victories from Wijesinghe and Brandt to win 4-3.
Head coach Matt Tyler said he was pleased the way his team started the doubleheader against a tough opponent.
“Western [has] improved and they really competed well,” Tyler said. “It was a great win for us.”
Against Eastern, the Braves did not fare as well. They dropped the doubles point and were only able to pick up a victory in the No. 2 slot from Brandt and Wijesinghe.
Tyler said Brandt and Wijesinghe’s consistency in doubles helped the rest of the team relax.
“I can’t say enough about how [Brandt] and [Wijesinghe] are playing right now,” Tyler said. “It takes the pressure off of everyone else knowing that we will at least get one doubles win and hopefully be able to get the point.”
After not picking up the doubles point, the Braves surrendered another point as freshman Victoria Gonzales forfeited due to an injury suffered against Western earlier in the day.
The newest member of the Braves, Kinga Kovacs, had to slide up to take Gonzales’ place in No. 5 doubles. Kovacs, a freshman from Hungary, joined the Braves just this spring, and Tyler said she has been a great addition.
“She is first and foremost a great person to have on the team,” Tyler said. “She is a great culture kid. She is getting comfortable, because this is her first time being to the United States ever.”
Kovacs battled but fell in the end. The Braves only picked up two singles points from Brandt and Wijesinghe as they fell 5-2.
Bradley will travel to Omaha to play University of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday, as well as Creighton on Sunday.
