Huskies Prevail in Season Opener at Lake Superior State
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's tennis team opened the 2019-20 season Saturday with a 6-1 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at Lake Superior State University. The Huskies went 7-2 in the GLIAC a year ago and are off to a good start in the conference after Saturday's win.
"It was a big win for us today against a good Lake Superior State team on the road at a difficult place to play," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Kalinec said. "I'm very proud of our team and the effort they gave on the court. This year's team is very talented and we have great depth in the lineup which showed in today's match.
"Our freshmen players responded really well in their first collegiate match which was great to see. Jessica [Brown] battled back with a strong third set in No. 2 singles and made some great adjustments to get the win. Our No. 2 doubles team (Dominika Bobik/Lauren Opalewski) was strong today and it's awesome to see them picking up and playing within our doubles system so well."
Michigan Tech (1-0, 1-0 GLIAC) earned the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead to open Saturday's match. Lake Superior State (0-1, 0-1 GLIAC) produced the win in No. 1 doubles with AlexiAnn Drouin and Milena Boigorria picking up the 6-2 victory. Dominika Bobik and Lauren Opalewski were able to counter with a 6-3 victory in No. 2 doubles for the Huskies and pick up a key point for the Huskies. The Lakers were unable to field a No. 3 doubles team and Tech got the overall doubles point in their favor.
The Huskies battled hard in singles and notched their other three points in Saturday's match. Jessica Brown got past Nadege Koua 7-5 in the first set before Koua rallied with a 6-2 victory in the second set. Brown regrouped and put together a solid third set, winning 6-1 for the point in the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Neva Manas was penciled into the No. 4 position in the lineup Saturday and also locked down a three-set win. Manas recorded a 6-2 victory in set one before her opponent Keegan Malpass rallied for a 6-3 decision in set two. Much like Brown, Manas bounced back with a strong third set to win the point 6-1.
Opalewski earned the third singles point for the Huskies taking a 6-2, 6-3 win in No. 5 singles against Riley Gilman on Saturday. Samantha Johnson did not have an opponent to face in No. 6 singles while Milena Boigorria had to retire for Lake Superior State in her match against Dominika Bobik in No. 3 singles. The lone point for the Lakers was delivered by Drouin 6-4, 6-3 in No. 1 singles.
The Huskies will compete at the ITA Regionals next weekend on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tech will resume team match play at GLIAC foes Ashland on Saturday September 28th and Wayne State University on Sunday September 29th.