WATERLOO, Iowa – Eight Bradley players combined for a 10-5 singles record and three remain alive in the championship bracket of their respective flights, highlighting the first day of action in the UNI Invitational Friday afternoon at Byrnes Park and the Black Hawk Tennis Club.
Tournament play will resume Saturday with 7:30 a.m. action in the singles brackets, followed two rounds of doubles play.
Two Braves, senior Meredith McDonagh and Cassia Wojtalik, played their way into the semifinals of the Campanile Singles flight. McDonagh advanced through the lower half of the bracket with a pair of dominating wins: 6-0, 6-0 against Green Bay's Noel Peck and 6-1, 6-1 versus Upper Iowa's Morgan Winnie. Wojtalik received a first-round bye, then cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win against Saint Louis' Taylor Monken. Wojtalik will face Milwaukee's Christina Colarossi in the semifinals, while McDonagh will take on Milwaukee's Kristin Kurer for the opportunity to set up an all-Bradley final.
In the Gold Singles flight, freshman Ariel Dechter also advanced to the semifinals with a pair of Friday victories. Dechter started the day with a 6-0, 6-1 win against St. Catherine's Maria Koval, then followed with a tie-break victory against Drake's Maddie Johnson, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (4). Dechter will face Milwaukee's Dana Shannon in a main draw semifinal Saturday. In the other half of the Gold Singles, fellow Bradley freshman Ashley Thai dropped her opening-round match to Iowa State's Samantha Budai, but rebounded with a 6-3, 6-0 win against Green Bay's Claudio Negron, 6-3, 6-0. Thai will face Illinois State's Emmie Marx in a consolation bracket semifinal Saturday.
In the Purple Singles flight, senior Adele Henke opened play with a 6-3, 6-2 win against St. Catherine's Victoria Bravo, then dropped a her second-round match versus Drake's Nell Boyd by 6-2, 6-3 scores. Henke will face another Missouri Valley Conference rival, UNI's Astrid Santos in a consolation semifinal Saturday.
In the Panthers Singles flight, senior Sarah Rodefeld opened with a dominant, 6-0, 6-0 win against Upper Iowa's Nicole Pothen before dropping a second-round match to Saint Louis' Madie Cook, 6-3, 6-3. Rodefeld will face Illinois State's Carolina Abello in a Saturday consolation semifinal.
In the UNI Singles flight, senior Ashley Roth also opened with a 1-1 record, following her first-round loss to Saint Louis' Madeline Jolly with a 6-0, 6-3 win against St. Catherine's Angie Lorenzen in a consolation bracket quarterfinal. Roth will face South Dakota's Nina Barudzic Saturday.
Bradley got another Friday split in the T.C. Singles bracket when junior Carly Miles opened with a 7-5, 6-2 win against Green Bay's Carly Van Nuland before dropping a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Iowa State's Caroline Andersen. Miles will face St. Catherine's Meredith Holt in a Saturday consolation match.
In the Purple Doubles flight, the Bradley duo of Henke/Thai moved into the championship bracket with an 8-6 win against Iowa State's tandem of Budai/Cassens.
The Braves did not enjoy the same opening-round success in the Gold Doubles flight, where the duos of Miles/Rodefeld and Dechter/McDonagh both fell in the first round. The combo of Roth/Wojtalik also dropped its opening-round match in the Panther Doubles flight.
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