The Bradley tennis team had a busy spring break, playing three matches in Florida between March 15-17 and holding its outdoor home opener against Murray State on March 20.
The junior duo of Bozana Lojpur and Nikki Perlwitz earned MVC Doubles Team of the Week for a program-record fourth time already this season, making Lojpur the first Brave ever to take home the honor four times in her career.
The team traveled to Florida earlier last week for a three-day competition featuring Merrimack, Navy and North Dakota and managed to finish with a 2-1 record in the Sunshine State.
Bradley 4-3 win vs. Merrimack
The Braves started the trip with a narrow 4-3 win against Merrimack College at the USTA Center in Orlando.
In the Doubles competition against the Warriors, Bradley had an excellent start with three wins. The duo of Madalena Andrade and Kirstin Hailey won 6-0, while Lojpur and Perlwitz secured a 6-1 victory. Maria Bezmenova and Juliana Martinez played their second match together and picked up another win, 6-3.
Andrade and Hailey have been the MVC Doubles Team of the Week twice this year thanks to consistent performances, and Andrade thinks the new connection can bring future success.
“I really feel comfortable playing with her,” Andrade said. “I think we are a really strong Doubles team and that we can win against very strong schools. We did not actually play in the fall together, but [head coach Matt Tyler] tried to play us in the beginning of the spring, and I think he saw right away that we could probably do good things together, and it is working really well so far.”
In Singles competition the same day, Perlwitz, Lojpur and Hailey secured the victory for the Braves. Perlwitz, playing in her home state, clinched a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5 Singles. Lojpur finished next with a 6-2, 6-1 victory and Hailey did not drop the pace and won 6-4, 6-0.
Bradley 5-2 loss vs. Navy
During the second day of competition in Orlando, the Braves fell 5-2 against a dominant Navy Midshipmen team, which boasts a 15-2 record.
Navy took an early lead after a sweep in the Doubles competition, and the story was the same in the Singles competition, as the Midshipmen clinched the victory after wins at Nos. 4, 2 and 3.
Even though Bradley was not able to secure the victory, head coach Matt Tyler was proud of his team’s effort.
“They are a great team [and] really well-coached; I have known their coach for a long time and he does a great job,” Tyler said. “He has got outstanding players, too, so for us to get those two Singles wins, I felt really good about that. Those are good players that both Nikki [Perlwitz] and Bo [Lojpur] were able to beat.”
Bradley 5-2 win vs. North Dakota
On the last day in Florida, the Braves battled against North Dakota to ensure a winning trip, coming back from a deficit of 0-2 after letting the Fighting Hawks take the Doubles point and earning a win at No. 6 Singles on a walkover.
Bezmenova led the team with a 6-1, 7-6 (3) victory at No. 4 Singles and Hailey came back from an early deficit to win at No. 2 Singles.
Lojpur clinched the victory in three sets: 2-6, 6-1 and 6-4 while Andrade closed the victory for the Braves after a win in three sets. After the match had been decided, Perlwitz added a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win at No. 5 Singles.
Outdoor home opener: Bradley 5-2 loss vs. Murray State
Back at home on March 20, the Braves dropped their outdoor opener against Murray State.
For the first time this season, all three Doubles matches went into tiebreaks. Bradley was able to clinch victories at the top two Doubles positions, but it was not enough to stop the Racers from coming out on top, as they secured the victory with Singles wins at Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5.
After the match was decided, Andrade won her second consecutive Singles match at No. 3 with a 6-4, 7-5.
Tyler believes Andrade played a great match on Sunday and expects her to be a key player for the team in the future.
“She has the potential to really be an outstanding performer for us,” Tyler said. “I have full faith and confidence in Maddy [Andrade]. She is one of the hardest-working players I think I have ever coached [and] is always somebody that wants to do extra work and spend extra time, and I know that she will reach her full potential here in the near future.”
Bradley will look to bounce back as they open MVC action, visiting Illinois State on March 26.
“They are playing really well,” Tyler said. “ISU has got a great team this year; we will have to make sure that we are sharp and focused and ready to play.”
