Drake women's tennis defeated Missouri State and lost to Murray State on their weekend road trip to two separate states. The shorthanded Bulldogs took down the Bears 4-1 on Saturday before narrowly losing 4-3 to the Racers.
 
Drake 4, Missouri State 1
Despite forfeiting a doubles match, the Bulldogs earned the doubles point over the Bears. Rebecca Ehn and Ines Stephani shut out Cristina Flaquer and Nicole Ross 6-0 to begin the day strong. Mille Haagensen and Darinka Stepan proceeded to take down Mary Houston and Sandra Lukacova 6-2 to secure the first point of the match.
 
The Bulldogs were forced to concede the final singles position to Missouri State due to forfeit, but they fought through the disadvantage to take the match. Stephani won 6-4 and 6-1 in straight sets over Flaquer in the top singles slot. Haagensen followed suit by winning 6-3 and 6-1 over Houston in the second singles match. Stepan closed the match for the Bulldogs with the third consecutive straight sets win in 6-4, 6-3 fashion.
 
"I'm extremely proud of our team today," Head Coach Breaunna Addison said. "Naturally, I'm pleased with the win, but more importantly, it was a pleasure seeing the energy and joy we competed with today. They were dialed in, confident and determined starting from the doubles point, and they never let up. The challenge will be replicating the same quality tomorrow against another tough team."
 
Murray State 4, Drake 3
The Bulldogs dropped a tight match against the Murray State Racers in their second game of the weekend. Drake won the doubles point to open the match, but faltered in singles. Ehn and Stephani took down the Racers' top doubles tandem of Emma Honore and Natalie Slezakova 6-4. Drake forfeited the third doubles game, so the day's first point came down to Haagensen and Stepan's match. The Drake duo went into a tiebreaker but triumphed over Sarah Bureau and Annika Pschorr 7-5.
 
Drake opened singes knotted up 1-1 against the Racers due to the Bulldogs forfeiting a singles match. Stepan swiftly tilted the advantage to the Bulldogs by winning 7-5 and 6-2 in straight sets over Varvara Alexeyeva. Murray State's Marit Kreugel evened the contest at two apiece by defeating Nicole Lee in straight sets. Valeria Chaikovskaia defeated Stephani in three sets in the top singles position to give the Racers a 3-2 advantage. Honore then handed Murray State the match victory by defeating Ehn in three sets. Haagensen closed the day with a win over Bureau in three sets to bring the final score to 4-3 Murray State.
 
"A few points were the difference between a 3-4 and 4-3 result today," Addison said. "We were courageous, kept the energy high, and made them fight for every point. The match didn't go our way, but we left it all on the court today, and that's all you can ask for."
 
Doubles Results vs Missouri State (Order of Finish 3, 1, 2)
1. Rebecca Ehn and Ines Stephani (DU) defeated Cristina Flaquer and Nicole Ross (MOST) 6-0
2. Mille Haagensen and Darinka Stepan (DU) defeated Mary Houston and Sandra Lukacova (MOST) 6-2
3. Tuana Gunal and Juliette Robinson (MOST) won by forfeit

Singles Results vs Missouri State (Order of Finish 6, 1, 2, 4)
1. Ines Stephani (DU) defeated Cristina Flaquer (MOST) 6-4, 6-1
2. Mille Haagensen (DU) defeated Mary Houston (MOST) 6-3, 6-1
3. Rebecca Ehn (DU) vs. Tuana Gunal (MOST) 6-2, 4-5 Unfinished
4. Darinka Stepan (DU) defeated Juliette Robinson (MOST) 6-4, 6-3
5. Nicole Lee (DU) vs. Nicole Ross (MOST) 1-0 Unfinished
6. Sandra Lukacova (MOST) won by forfeit
 
Doubles Results vs Murray State (Order of Finish 3, 1, 2)
1. Rebecca Ehn and Ines Stephani (DU) defeated Emma Honore and Natalie Slezakova (MSU) 6-4
2. Mille Haagensen and Darinka Stepan (DU) defeated Sarah Bureau and Annika Pschorr (MSU) 7-5
3. Paola Campigotto and Marit Kreugel (MSU) won by forfeit

Singles Results vs Murray State (Order of Finish 6, 4, 5, 1, 3, 2)
1. Valeria Chaikovskaia (MSU) defeated Ines Stephani (DU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Mille Haagensen (DU) defeated Sarah Bureau (MSU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
3. Emma Honore (MSU) defeated Rebecca Ehn (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
4. Darinka Stepan (DU) defeated Varvara Alexeyeva (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Marit Kreugel (MSU) defeated Nicole Lee (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Natalie Slezakova (MSU) won by forfeit