PEORIA, IL - A trio of Braves enjoyed undefeated days and Bradley (6-2) rolled to its fifth and sixth consecutive dual match victories Saturday with a pair of 6-1 women's tennis wins against South Dakota and Northern Kentucky at the Clubs at River City South.
Bradley has won six consecutive matches for the first time since a 7-match winning streak that spanned the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Junior Ariel Dechter and senior Irinka Toidze both posted 4-0 combined singles and doubles records Saturday, while sophomore Aimee Manfredo went 3-0 on the day.
The Braves will return to action next weekend by visiting Western Michigan Feb. 20 and UIC Feb. 21. Bradley will play its final non-conference home match Feb. 26 when the Braves host Western Illinois.
at Bradley 6, South Dakota 1
Bradley (5-2) held off South Dakota's comeback attempt by pulling our three 3-set decisions in singles play to earn the 6-1 win against the Coyotes (3-3). The Braves raced out to a 3-0 lead by earning a pair of 6-2 decisions at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles and breezing to a pair of 6-2, 6-2 wins at Nos. 1 and 3 singles by Ariel Dechter and Aimee Manfredo, respectively.
South Dakota threatened to take the match, however, by winning the first set in each of the other four singles matches. After dropping her first set at No. 2 singles, sophomore Alexa Brandt clinched Bradley's fifth consecutive dual match victory by securing the deciding fourth point with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory. Senior Irinka Toidze (No. 4) and junior Ashley Thai (No. 6) also rallied for 3-set wins for the final 6-1 score.
at Bradley 6, Northern Kentucky 1
Bradley (6-2) extended its winning streak to six consecutive matches by rolling to the first six points against a short-handed Northern Kentucky (2-4) squad Saturday afternoon.
With Northern Kentucky limited to five healthy players, Bradley secured the opening doubles point when Ariel Dechter and Irinka Toidze teamed for a 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.
The Braves took a 2-0 lead by earning the No. 6 singles point by default, then breezed to straight-sets wins in the next four singles matches to finish. Dechter earned a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles and Aimee Manfredo followed wtih a 6-2, 6-1 win in the No. 3 spot to clinch the match. Malini Wijesinghe took a 6-4, 6-4 decision at No. 5 singles and Toidze completed Bradley's scoring with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 4 singles.
