DES MOINES, IOWA ? For the second consecutive year the women's tennis match between Drake and Northern Iowa came down to the wire and unfortunately for the Bulldogs the results were the same as the Panthers registered a 4-3 victory on Sunday (March 30) at the Drake Tennis Center.
Drake won four of the seven matches that were played but fell in the match due to having only five available players.
The Bulldogs dropped to 7-10 on the year, including 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference with the setback, while Northern Iowa improved its ledger to 9-5 overall and 1-0 in league play in netting the victory.
Both doubles matches were tightly contested affairs as identical 9-7 scores decided each. The Bulldogs came out victorious at the No. 2 position where the duo of senior Irina Kalashnikova (Sochi, Russia) and junior Kari Sloboth (Omaha, Neb.) netted a 9-7 decision over Carolina Hannes and Sampada Kanade.
Junior Veronika Leszayova (Povazska Bystrica, Slovak Republic) posted her third straight win at No. 1 singles downing Meghana Paritala, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5.
Extending her singles win streak to six for Drake with a 6-4, 6-1 victory versus Laia Garrido at No. 3 was Sloboth,
Senior Daria Zawislak (Gdansk, Poland) rounded out the win total as she collected her fifth triumph in her last six outings with a 6-1, 6-4 decision against Diana Mendez.
Drake closes out its home schedule next weekend with a trio of matches at the Drake Tennis Center. Action gets underway on Friday (April 4) against Indiana State at 2:00 p.m.
Northern Iowa def. Drake, 4-3
Drake Tennis Center ? March 30, 2008
Records: Drake (7-10, 1-1 MVC), Northern Iowa (9-5, 1-0 MVC)
Singles:
No. 1 Veronika Leszayova (DU) def. Meghana Paritala (UNI), 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
No. 2 Sampada Kanade (UNI) def. Irina Kalashnikova (DU), 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
No. 3 Kari Sloboth (DU) def. Laia Garrido (UNI), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 Taynara Moraes (UNI) def. Sarah Plowman (DU), 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 Daria Zawislak (DU) def. Diana Mendez (UNI), 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Carolina Hannes (UNI) won by default
Doubles:
No. 1 Paritala/Moraes (UNI) def. Leszayova/Plowman (DU), 9-7
No. 2 Kalashnikova/Sloboth (DU) def. Hannes/Kanada (UNI), 9-7
No. 3 Garrido/Mendez (UNI) won by default
