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5
Winner SIUE SIUE (1-0)
2
Valparaiso VALPO (3-1)
Winner
SIUE SIUE
(1-0)
5
Final
2
Valparaiso VALPO
(3-1)

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Joe Pecoraro, SIUE Athletics Communications

Cougars Power Past Valparaiso to Earn Season-Opening Win

VALPARAISO, Ind.  -  The SIUE tennis team opened the 2022 season in style on Saturday afternoon, as the Cougars took down the Valparaiso Beacons 5-2. 

How It Happened

Doubles
  • The Cougars carried the dominant doubles play from last spring into 2022, earning the doubles point thanks to a pair of wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
  • Jordan Schifano and Vanessa Reinicke notched their first doubles win as a team in the second position, 6-4.
  • Caitlyn Sporing and Melissa Vizcardo earn their first-ever doubles win as a pair in the third position, 6-4.
Singles
  • SIUE and Valpo then entered singles play, where the Cougars and Beacons battled back and forth with a trio of matches decided by a tie-breaking third set.
  • Singles play did not start off on the right foot for the Cougars, as Schifano and Jill Lambrechts dropped their fixtures in straight sets in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively; however, the feisty SIUE squad were not deterred.
  • Fabiola Perez earned a straight-set win in the No. 4 position to bring the match back level, highlighted by a thrilling 15-13 tiebreaker to win the second set, 7-6. Perez would secure the win with a 6-4 third set.
  • Sporing followed closely after in the No. 6 spot, dropping her first set, 6-1, before claiming the second set 6-4 and completing her comeback with an impressive 6-2 score in the third set.
  • Vizcardo would clinch the Cougars' first win of the season in the No. 5 position in near-identical fashion as Sporing, dropping the first set by a 6-1 margin before righting her ship with a 7-5 win in the second set and a 6-2 win in the third.
  • Reinicke closed out Saturday's match with an ultra-competitive fixture in the No. 3 position, dropping a 6-3 first set before rattling off a 7-5 second set win and a 6-4 win in the third.

Coach's Corner

"It was great to kickoff our season with a win. We dug a hole dropping five first sets in singles play and showed tremendous fight to claw back into the match."

"Really proud of the focus and conditioning of this team. With a few players out of the lineup, we saw an early challenge and got the victory."


News & Notes
  • SIUE is now 5-0 all-time against Valparaiso, a series which dates back to the Cougars' final year of NCAA Division II play in 2008.
  • Head Coach Adam Albertsen has never lost a season-opening match since arriving at SIUE. Today's win improves Albertsen to 4-0 in season openers at SIUE.
Up Next
The Cougars, who now sit at 1-0 on the season, will have a quick turnaround. SIUE will make the short trip west to Homewood, Illinois, as the Red & White take on the Chicago State Cougars to close out SIUE's weekend road trip to Chicagoland. First serve is set for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m.
 
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