The Bradley women’s tennis team notched a 4-3 victory against Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis last Saturday in Indianapolis, before getting a 6-1 win against Butler later that same day.
Against IUPUI, Bradley built a quick 3-0 lead by taking two of three doubles matches and a singles match. Junior Ariel Dechter teamed with senior Irinka Toidze for a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles. Dechter then cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles.
Then, freshman Malini Wijesinghe teamed up with sophomore Alexa Brandt to follow up Dechter’s wins with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. However, IUPUI fought back by winning in straight sets at No. 3, 4 and 5 singles.
This left the deciding match up to sophomore Alejandra de Lasa and IUPUI’s Sara Sherif at No. 2 singles. Sherif rolled to a 6-1 win in the opening set, but de Lasa fought back for a 6-3 score in the second set.
The players battled to a 3-3 tie in the deciding third set, before de Lasa reeled off the final three games to pick up the win for the Braves.
“IUPUI came out and played some great matches,” head coach Matt Tyler said. “They were a very tough team, so I have to give them credit. Believing that we could win those tight matches was certainly key to our victory.”
Against Butler later in the day, the Braves breezed to their fourth consecutive win. The duo of Dechter and Toidze at No. 2 doubles and sophomore Aimee Manfredo and Wijesinghe at No. 3 both earned 6-3 victories.
While Manfredo (No. 4 singles) and Wijesinghe (No. 6) both swept to 6-0, 6-0 wins in their respective matches, de Lasa earned a 7-6, 6-3 win for No. 2 singles.
Then Dechter earned her 102nd all-time victory at No. 1 singles with a 6-3, 6-2 victory, moving her into third for most wins in Bradley history.
Only Teri Chan, with 115 combined wins from 2003-07, and Ashley Morris, with 110 victories from 2002-06, rank ahead of Dechter, who was also named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week.
“I was so successful this past weekend because of my coaches,” Dechter said. “In addition to giving me advice on the court, they care so much about me and so do my teammates, which really makes the matches I play in so fun to be a part of.”
The Braves current four-game winning streak matches the four-game streak Bradley enjoyed from Feb. 15 to 28 in the 2009 season. However, their next win would be their longest winning streak since they won seven games in a row in the 1999 season.
Bradley will try to continue its winning ways Saturday in a double-header against South Dakota at 9 a.m. and Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m.
