RICHMOND, Va. – Drake women's tennis (4-8) competed hard but could not come up with a victory during a two-match trip to the state of Virginia. The Bulldogs began their East Coast swing with a 4-0 loss at James Madison (5-5) before falling at Richmond.
 
James Madison 4, Drake 0
The Bulldogs began their weekend with a Sunday matinee against the Dukes of James Madison. Drake narrowly missed the doubles points as duets of Mille Haagense/Ines Stephani and Rebecca Ehn/Darinka Stepan pushed their matches to 7-6 finals.
 
Leading 1-0, JMU went on a tear through singles action as Cate Broerman beat Haagensen at No. 2 and Ines Oliveira defeated Ehn at No. 3. The Dukes used another win via forfeit in the sixth position to secure the 4-0 final.
 
"It wasn't the result we wanted but we took away a valuable lesson in communication and accountability," Drake assistant Kweisi Kenyatte said. "We were looking forward to another tough opponent the next day and were excited the opportunity to right the ship."
 
Richmond 4, Drake 1
Drake turned around after their first tilt of the weekend with a battle against Richmond. The Spiders held off a charging Bulldog squad as Drake dropped its second match in as many days.
 
Mille Haagensen led the Bulldogs as the team's lone point scorer against Richmond. The junior Norwegian earned a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of the Spiders' Carly Cohen in the No. 2 singles spot.
 
Haagensen's point was not enough to fully turn the tides, though, as Richmond picked up the doubles point and snagged three more in singles to reach the final 4-1 tally.
 
"The energy and competitiveness were better today," Drake head coach Breaunna Addison said. "Unfortunately, the cards didn't fall in our favor, but we put ourselves in the best position to win. Had we continued the match, Darinka [Stepan] and Ines [Stephani] were on track to finish strong. Ideally, we'd like to close the non-conference schedule with a win, but I believe we are gaining positive traction."
 
The Bulldogs will have a week off before starting MVC play. Drake will visit Valparaiso and UIC from Mar. 23-24.
 
 
SINGLES vs. JAMES MADISON
1. Daria Munteanu (JMU) vs. Ines Stephani (DU) DNF
2. Cate Broerman (JMU) def. Mille Haagensen (DU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Ines Oliveira (JMU) def. Rebecca Ehn (DU) 6-1, 6-1
4. Hope Moulin (JMU) vs. Darinka Stepan (DU) DNF
5. Alexandra Prudente (JMU) vs. Nicole Lee (DU) DNF
6. Sara Sadadinovic (JMU) won by forfeit
 
DOUBLES vs. JAMES MADISON
1. Daria Munteanu/Ines Oliveira (JMU) def. Mille Haagensen/Ines Stephani (DU) 7-6(7-4)
2. Cate Broerman/Alexandra Prudente (JMU) def. Rebecca Ehn/Darinka Stepan (DU) 7-6(7-3)
3. Hayley Glenn/Hope Moulin (JMU) won by forfeit.
 
SINGLES vs. RICHMOND
1. Ines Stephani (DU) vs. Andrea Campodonico (RICH) DNF
2. Mille Haagensen (DU) def. Carly Cohen (RICH) 6-4, 6-1
3. Leonor Oliveira (RICH) def. Rebecca Ehn (DU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Darinka Stepan (DU) vs. Elizabeth Novak (RICH) DNF
5. Claire Le Du (RICH) def. Nicole Lee (DU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Lara Bakhaya (RICH) won by forfeit.
 
DOUBLES vs. RICHMOND
1. Ines Stephani/Mille Haagensen (DU) vs. Andrea Campodonico/Lara Bakhaya (RICH) DNF
2. Elizabeth Novak/Claire Le Du (RICH) def. Rebecca Ehn/Darinka Stepan (DU) 6-0
3. Lainey O'Neil/Carly Cohen (RICH) won by forfeit.