CHICAGO – After facing adversity in singles play, the University of Chicago women's tennis team rallied in a big way across the lineup to emerge with a 7-2 triumph over Lewis University on Saturday.
The Maroons improved to 2-1 on the season. The NCAA Division II Flyers dropped to 3-1.
UChicago started well with a pair of wins in doubles at No. 1 and No. 2. First-years Sylwia Mikos and Shianna Guo defeated their opponents 8-4, while senior Eugenia Lee and junior Claudia Ng made quick work of their match 8-2.
Singles was another story at the onset. Lewis came out swinging and took the first set in five of the six matches. However, UChicago held up under the pressure and forced three sets in each of those contests. Four of those bouts went in favor of the Maroons, with wins by Mikos at No. 1, Ng at No. 3, first-year Nicole Geller at No. 4 and first-year Miranda Yuan at No. 5. Guo earned a straight-sets victory at No. 2.
"Today was all about fight, grit and never quitting," Head Coach Jay Tee said. "After a solid 2-1 lead after doubles, things looked ominous in singles. We were down first sets at No. 1, 3, 4 and 5, and down 5-1 in the first set at No. 2 before mounting our comeback. We were able to turn all of those matches into wins by believing in ourselves and not giving up when things looked bleak. The clinching point came from the stoic Nicole Geller, who battled back from 5-1 down in the second set tiebreak and eventually won 7-5 in the third set. Just an awesome team win that we will enjoy tonight before closing out the weekend with Cardinal Stritch tomorrow evening."
UChicago 7, Lewis 2
Singles
1. Sylwia Mikos (UC) def. Anastasiya Salenko (LEWIS) 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-2
2. Shianna Guo (UC) def. Nefeli Zafeiri (LEWIS) 7-5, 6-2
3. Claudia Ng (UC) def. Casey Smith (LEWIS) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4. Nicole Geller (UC) def. Jovana Vujanic (LEWIS) 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
5. Miranda Yuan (UC) def. Joie Reisch (LEWIS) 3-6, 6-1, 10-7
6. Sage Hills (LEWIS) def. Eugenia Lee (UC) 6-3, 3-6, 10-6
Doubles
1. Sylwia Mikos/Shianna Guo (UC) def. Casey Smith/Anastasiya Salenko (LEWIS) 8-4
2. Eugenia Lee/Claudia Ng (UC) def. Nefeli Zafeiri/Joie Reisch (LEWIS) 8-2
3. Grace Sueflohn/Sage Hills (LEWIS) def. Miranda Yuan/Cara O'Flaherty (UC) 8-6
NEXT MATCH:
- Sunday, Feb. 20 @ 5:00 PM – Cardinal Stritch University at UChicago (at XS Tennis)
