DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's tennis team showed no signs of rust following a weeklong layoff as it defeated South Dakota, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center.
Drake claimed the doubles point in convincing fashion, dropping only two games across the three matches.
Kelsey Neville/
Maria Tatarnikova dominated en route to a 6-0 victory in No. 2 doubles, and
Carmen Palumbo/
Megan Webb took a 6-1 victory after falling in the first game in No. 3 doubles.
Liza Petushkova/
Joely Lomas, on the brink of victory with a 5-1 advantage, went unfinished in No. 1 doubles.
Tatarnikova doubled Drake's lead with a dominating 6-3, 6-0 win in No. 3 singles. Lomas (6-2, 6-3 at No. 2) and Webb (6-3, 6-3 at No. 6) won in quick succession as Drake clinched the dual with a 4-0 lead.
South Dakota clawed back and earned wins over Palumbo (6-2, 3-6, 0-6) at No. 2 and Petushkova at No. 1. Petushkova won the first set, 7-5, and lost in the second set, 2-6, before falling in the 10-point tiebreaker, 10-6.
Neville rallied from an 0-2 hole in the first set to claim a 7-6 win, then nearly overcame a 2-5 deficit in the second set before losing, 7-6. She then owned the 10-point tiebreaker, 10-3, to claim the win and bring the dual score to 5-2.
Drake (2-1) travels to Madison on Jan. 31 for an 11 a.m. dual against the Wisconsin Badgers.
