NIU women’s tennis celebrated a successful weekend, opening their season from Friday to Sunday at the University of Minnesota’s Gopher Invitational at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.

The Huskies shined across all three days, posting a total 32-10 record, 14-6 in doubles and 18-4 in singles against matchups from the Golden Gophers, Drake University Bulldogs, Marquette University Golden Eagles, University of Northern Iowa Panthers, University of St. Thomas Tommies and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers.

Standout performances included the new duo of junior Lucia Yecora and freshman Natalia Varela Herrera; they combined for a 4-1 record in doubles, only dropping their opening matchup and going undefeated in singles, 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. 

Junior Theodora Kousiou, sophomore Rebeca Garcia Miralles, sophomore Sophia Shlyakhta and freshman Paulina Masherava were also perfect in singles. 

“Solid team effort. It’s one of the better weekends I can remember out of all the fall tournaments I’ve been to over the years,” head coach Eric Burns said. “The returning players and freshmen have all been working hard. I wouldn’t say we’ve had one bad day of practice, so a good start to our season.” 

FRIDAY

NIU got off to a shaky start in doubles on opening day after freshman Iben Storkaas and Kousiou fell 6-1 to the Tommies pair of sophomore Emilia Korseth and senior Caroline Lindahl before pulling one back against Northern Iowa’s sophomore Yangjiaxin Li and junior Abbie Peterson with a 6-4 score. 

Yecora and Herrera split their doubles matchups, conceding 6-4 to Minnesota seniors Anlin Xie and Jeselle Ante before serving a 6-0 score to the Marquette duo of freshman Lea Holmlund and sophomore Maria Poon.

Junior Irmak Budak and Miralles made the difference in doubles on the opening day for NIU, winning both their contests against the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers graduate student Karolina Skowronska and junior Elisa Rubio 6-2 and St. Thomas junior Ingrid Forsberg and freshman Lauryn Schenck 6-1.

Shlyakhta and Masherava split their bouts, losing to the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers freshman Lexie Hankel and junior Nikola Nikolajeva by a 6-3 score, but defeating Tommies’ duo junior Anna Louise Bjørnestad and freshman Soneera Kavya 6-1. 

The Huskies coasted in singles, taking seven of eight matchups. Budak nearly completed the comeback against Golden Gophers Ante but fell in three tightly contested sets 6-4, 4-6 and 14-12.

Kousiou and Miralles came out on top in three sets each to round out Day One. 

SATURDAY 

NIU adjusted and found a new level in doubles on Saturday as they nearly swept 7-1. Huskie duo of Budak and Miralles fell short by a 7-5 score to Golden Eagles freshman Kate Thorne and junior Aiyana Abbott. 

Six Huskies secured wins in singles on Day Two; Kousiou and Masherava did so in comeback fashion in three sets. Storkaas almost completed the Huskies’ singles sweep and took Marquette Poon to three sets where she was stopped in the last set 10-5.

SUNDAY 

The closing day saw NIU split doubles at two apiece. Yecora and Herrera, along with Storkaas and Kousiou, handled their matchups against UNI and Marquette, respectively. 

NIU experimented with different duos on the closing day. Budak paired with Masherava and Shlyakhta with Miralles, but neither pairing found success, losing to Minnesota and St. Thomas. 

The Huskies ended singles with a strong 5-2 record. Budak and Storkaas were both defeated in straight sets to Minnesota Ante and St. Thomas Else Vander Stichele, respectively. 

UP NEXT

The Huskies travel to Cleveland for the Horizon League Individual Championship, beginning on Friday and ending on Sunday. 

“We feel really good heading to Cleveland and we’ll work to get a singles or a doubles champion, or both,” Burns said. 

FULL RESULTS 

FRIDAY 

DOUBLES 5-3 

Emilia Korseth and Caroline Lindahl (St. Thomas) def. Iben Storkaas and Theodora Kousiou, 6-1

Iben Storkaas and Theodora Kousiou def. Yangjiaxin Li and Abbie Peterson (UNI), 6-4

Anlin Xie and Jeselle Ante (Minnesota) def. Lucia Yecora and Natalia Varela Herrera, 6-4

Lucia Yecora and Natalia Varela Herrera def. Lea Holmlund and Maria Poon (Marquette), 6-0

Irmak Budak and Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Karolina Skowronska and Elisa Rubio (UW-Milwaukee), 6-2

Irmak Budak and Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Ingrid Forsberg and Lauryn Schenck (St. Thomas), 6-1

Lexie Hankel and Nikola Nikolajeva (UW-Milwaukee) def. Sophia Shlyakhta and Paulina Masherava, 6-3

Sophia Shlyakhta and Paulina Masherava def. Anna Louise Bjørnestad and Soneera Kavya (St. Thomas), 6-1

SINGLES 7-1

Lucia Yecora def. Lucia Schuknecht (UNI), 6-4, 6-3

Natalia Varela Herrera def. Natalia Castaneda Guerrero (UW-Milwaukee), 6-3, 6-1

Jeselle Ante (Minnesota) def. Irmak Budak, 6-4, 4-6, 14-12

Theodora Kousiou def. Nikola Nikolajeva (UW-Milwaukee) 6-0, 6-7 (4), 11-9

Iben Storkaas def. Kamea Medora (Minnesota), 7-5, 6-0

Paulina Masherava def. Soneera Kavya (St. Thomas), 6-0, 6-3

Sophia Shlyakhta def. Abbie Peterson (UNI) 6-3, 6-4

Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Anna Louise Bjørnestad (St. Thomas) 6-3, 4-6, 10-8

SATURDAY 

DOUBLES 7-1 

Lucia Yecora and Natalia Varela Herrera def. Jeselle Ante and Kamea Medora (Minnesota), 6-2

Iben Storkaas and Theodora Kousiou def. Elena Duva and Elizabeth Stuckslager (Marquette), 7-5

Kate Thorne and Aiyana Abbott (Marquette) def. Irmak Budak and Rebeca Garcia Miralles , 7-5

Sophia Shlyakhta and Paulina Masherava def. Lauryn Schenck and Lily Olson (St. Thomas), 6-4

Lucia Yecora and Natalia Varela Herrera def. Ashlee Narker and Miranda Noor (Drake), 6-4

Iben Storkaas and Theodora Kousiou def. Nikola Nikolajeva and Karolina Skowronska (UW Milwaukee), 7-5

Irmak Budak and Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Else Vander Stichele and Alize Yarwood (St. Thomas), 7-6 (7-2)

Sophia Shlyakhta and Paulina Masherava  def. Lexie Hankel and Elisa Rubio (UW Milwaukee), 7-6 (4), 6-4

SINGLES 6-1

Maria Poon (Marquette) def. Iben Storkaas, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 10-5

Theodora Kousiou def. Anna Sidorenko (St. Thomas), 2-6, 6-4, 10-4

Natalia Varela Herrera def. Else Vander Stichele (St. Thomas), 6-4, 7-6 (3)

Lucia Yecora def. Lea Holmlund (Marquette), 6-4, 6-1

Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Jordane Dookie (Drake) 6-2, 6-3

Paulina Masherava def. Kate Thorne (Marquette) 0-6, 7-6 (3), 10-7

Sophia Shlyakhta def. Honoka Yamashita (UW-Milwaukee) 7-6 (4), 6-4

SUNDAY

DOUBLES 2-2

Lucia Yecora and Natalia Varela Herrera def. Yangjiaxin Li and Kayla Ruth Santosa (UNI), 6-1

Kamea Medora and Anali Kocevar (Minnesota) def. Irmak Budak and Paulina Masherava, 6-3

Emilia Korseth and Caroline Lindahl (St. Thomas) def. Sophia Shlyakhta and Rebeca Garcia Miralles, 6-4

Iben Storkaas and Theodora Kousiou def. Maria Poon and Aiyana Abbott (Marquette), 6-2

SINGLES 5-2

Anlin Xie (Minnesota) def. Irmak Budak, 6-0, 6-3

Lucia Yecora def. Anna Louise Bjornestad (St. Thomas), 6-0, 6-3

Rebeca Garcia Miralles def. Lexie Hankel (UW-Milwaukee), 6-2, 6-3

Paulina Masherava def. Abbie Peterson (UNI), 6-2, 6-2

Sophia Shlyakhta def. Lauryn Schenck (St. Thomas), 6-4, 6-4

Theodora Kousiou def. Lea Holmlund (Marquette), 6-3, 6-3

Else Vander Stichele (St. Thomas) def. Iben Storkaas, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5)