Skip To Main Content

Drake University Athletics

Schedule

Events

Results

Composite Calendar

Women's Tennis Drake Athletic Communications

Women's Tennis Begin MVC Tournament Challenge

Bulldogs are the fifth seed.

The Drake University women's tennis team is ready to begin the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament as the fifth seed with a first round match against fourth seed Bradley Friday. This will be the last of the Friday matches with a 2 p.m. start time in Missouri State's Cooper Tennis Complex.

With a Bulldog victory, Drake will move into the semifinals where they will challenge first seed Illinois State at 10 a.m. Saturday. If they finish off the top seed Saturday, the Bulldogs will move into the Championship. As the MVC Champion, Drake will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Drake (8-8, 2-3 MVC) fell 3-4 to Missouri State this past weekend. Maria Tatarnikova, Darinka Stepan and Kelsey Neville all succeeded in their singles matches, while Liza Petushkova and Tatarnikova were the only Bulldogs to sculpt together a doubles victory. Drake's last conference tournament victory came at the end of the 2015-16 season.

Bradley (10-6, 3-2 MVC) topped Valparaiso this past weekend to extend their winning streak to five matches going into the postseason. Maria Bezmenova and Nina Marjanovic, No. 2 doubles tandem, moved to 4-1 in their last five doubles matches and 5-2 overall. The last time these two teams met was three weeks ago and the Braves won the close battle 4-3. 

The Bulldogs hope to win three matches in a row to advance to the NCAA Tournament which will begin on May 16 in Orlando, Fla.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Neville

Kelsey Neville

Junior
Liza Petushkova

Liza Petushkova

Senior
Maria Tatarnikova

Maria Tatarnikova

5' 6"
Senior
Darinka Stepan

Darinka Stepan

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Neville

Kelsey Neville

Junior
Liza Petushkova

Liza Petushkova

Senior
Maria Tatarnikova

Maria Tatarnikova

5' 6"
Senior
Darinka Stepan

Darinka Stepan

Freshman