Bradley University Athletics

Tennis Hosts Eastern Illinois Saturday Afternoon

Braves Shoot for First 2-0 Start Since 2008-09

Malini Wijesinghe backhand vs Wichita State April 30, 2016

Wichita State Athletics

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Women's Tennis 2/3/2017 6:17:00 PM

Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-0) at Bradley Braves (1-0)
Date	Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017
Time	1:00 P.M. CT
Location	Clubs at River City (South)
Admission	FREE

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Saturday vs. EASTERN ILLINOIS, 1 p.m., Peoria, IL (Clubs at River City)
Sunday at Northern Illinois, 10 a.m., Rockford, IL (Boylan Tennis Center)

LAST WEEK'S RESULT
Jan. 28 vs. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, W, 7-0

MVC PLAYER-OF-THE-WEEK
Ariel Dechter, Bradley, Sr., Mundelein, IL (Mundelein H.S.)
This week's recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week for the fourth time in her career, Dechter continued to add to her pile of Bradley Tennis records while helping the Braves to a season-opening sweep against South Dakota State Saturday at Clubs t River City ... Dechter began the day by teaming with junior Aimee Manfredo for a 6-3 win at No. 2 doubles, giving the Braves the clinching doubles point for the early 1-0 lead ... The Dechter/Manfredo triumph gave Dechter her 58th career doubles victory, equaling the school record set by Ashley Morris from 2002-06 ... Playing at No. 1 singles, Dechter finished off Bradley's 7-0 team victory by grinding out a 3-set victory: 6-4, 2-6, 12-10 ... Decther's 73rd career singles victory equalled the Bradley record set by Teri Chan from 2003-07 ... Dechter pushed her school record for combined career victories to 131 and she now owns outright or shares 18 Bradley Tennis records.

BARBERY EARNS FIRST BRADLEY DUAL WIN
Freshman Natalia Barbery (Santa Cruz, Bolivia/Evert Tennis Academy) earned her first career dual match victory Saturday by cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 decision in her No. 3 Singles match against South Dakota State ... Barbery now shares the team lead with six singles wins overall this season, after posting a 5-5 individual record during the fall's tournament season.

SHOOTING FOR 2-0 START
Bradley will try to reverse recent history when the Braves (1-0) return to action Saturday afternoon by hosting Eastern Illinois (3-0) in a 1 p.m. dual at the Clubs at River City ... Bradley will be shooting for its first 2-0 start since 2008-09 by facing an Panthers opponent that has won eight consecutive meetings in the series ... Bradley has inched closer in each of the last two meetings, closing a 6-1 loss in 2012 to 5-2 in 2013 and 4-3 in 2014.

ROAD TRIP STARTS SUNDAY
Bradley will open a 3-match road swing Sunday when the Braves face another in-state foe, Northern Illinois, in a 10 a.m. match at Rockford's Boylan Tennis Center ... Bradley earned its first-ever win, in 17 tries, against Northern Illinois last season, pulling out a 4-3 victory at the Clubs at River City ... The Braves are 0-8 all-time on the road against Northern Illinois.

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