Braves Claim Two Titles in Home Invite

Sanda Maletin won the Singles Bradley flight and Kinga Kovac clamined the Singles White flight in the 2018 Bradley Invitational

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Women's Tennis 9/23/2018 3:51:00 PM

PEORIA, IL – Riding a strong Sunday showing up-and-down the lineup, Bradley came away with a pair of singles flight championships during the final day of the 6-team Bradley Invitational Sunday at the David Markin Tennis Courts.

Sophomore Sandra Maletin completed the top, Bradley flight with a 3-0 record to earn the tournament's top honor. Maletin earned the flight title Sunday with a 6-0, 6-4 victory against Saint Louis junior Cassie McKenzie. Sophomore Kinga Kovacs completed also finished 3-0 in the round-robin, White flight, earning the bracket championship Sunday with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Western Illinois freshman Natalie Malone.

Starting the 2018-19 season 💪

✅ 2 Tourneys in the books
✅ 36 combined singles and doubles wins
✅ 7 flight championships

2018 Bradley Invitational Recap ⬇️https://t.co/yfc9pOjesK pic.twitter.com/4yWfcfbTbr
— Bradley Tennis (@BradleyUTennis) September 23, 2018

Bradley's two freshmen both earned third-place finishes in their respective flights. Bozana Lojpur completed the Braves bracket with a 2-1 record by downing Saint Louis junior Mariluz Rojo 6-4, 7-6 (3). Nikki Perlwitz also went 2-1 in the Red bracket, taking third place with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Billikens senior Alba Salinas Sunday.

Junior Natalia Barbery also posted a 2-1 singles record on the weekend, claiming fifth place in the Braves bracket with a 6-1, 4-6, 10-6 victory against Northern Illinois freshman Paula Veyhle Sunday. Senior Malini Wijesinghe swapped matches with Cincinnati's Anna Philp to prevent an all-Bearcats final in the Kaboom! bracket. Though she fell to Cincinnati's Maria Santilli in Sunday's final round, Wijesinghe was credited with a third-place tie in the bracket as both undefeated players from Cincinnati claimed the bracket co-championship.

Bradley's players have combined for a 36-20 (.643) record in individual singles (27-11) and doubles (9-9) competition through the first two tournaments of the fall season, claiming seven of the 13 flight titles in the NIU Huskies Invite (5-of-6) and Bradley Invitational (2-of-7).

The Braves will continue the fall season by competing in the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Women's Tennis Individual Championships Oct. 5-7 at Missouri State, then will conclude the fall campaign Oct. 12-15 at the ITA Central Region Championships, to be hosted by the University of Iowa.

2018 Bradley Invitational | Complete Bradley Results
Singles Bradley
Friday – Sandra Maletin (BU) def. Hristina Djokic (DEP) 7-6 (8), 6-4
Saturday – Sandra Maletin (BU) def. Antonella Bramato (UC) 6-2, 6-2
Sunday – Sandra Maletin (BU) def. Cassie McKenzie (SLU) 6-0, 6-4
Champion: Sandra Maletin

Singles Braves
Friday – Emma Miceli (UC) def. Natalia Barbery (BU) 6-3, 6-1
Friday – Bozana Lojpur (BU) def. Paula Veyhle (NIU) 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2
Saturday – Madelyn Yergler (DEP) def. Bozana Lojpur (BU) 6-3, 6-4
Saturday – Natalia Barbery (BU) def. Mia Melnizki (WIU) 6-3, 6-2
Sunday – Bozana Lojpur (BU) def. Mariluz Rojo (SLU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Sunday – Natalia Barbery (BU) def. Paula Veyhle (NIU) 6-1, 4-6, 10-6
Third Place: Bozana Lojpur
Fifth Place: Natalia Barbery

Singles Kaboom!
Friday – Malini Wijesinghe (BU) def. Laura Ballesteros (WIU) 6-0, 6-1
Saturday – Anna Philp (UC) def. Malini Wijesinghe (BU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
Sunday – Maria Santilli (UC) def. Malini Wijesinghe (BU) 6-1, 6-1
T3rd: Malini Wijesinghe

Singles Red
Friday – Nikki Perlwitz (BU) def. Lara Slisko (NIU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
Friday – Victoria Gonzalez (BU) withdrew
Saturday – Mary Bjelica (WIU) def. Nikki Perlwitz (BU) 7-5, 6-4
Sunday – Nikki Perlwitz (BU) def. Alba Salinas (SLU) 7-5, 6-3
Third Place: Nikki Perlwitz
Eighth Place: Victoria Gonzalez

Singles White
Friday – Kinga Kovacs (BU) def. Mary Ellen Green (NIU) 6-1, 6-0
Saturday – Kinga Kovacs (BU) def. Alana Bourgeois (SLU) Walkover
Saturday – Megan Tagaloa (WIU) def. Kinga Kovacs (BU) 6-4, 6-1 (non-bracket match)
Sunday – Kinga Kovacs (BU) def. Natalie Maline (WIU) 6-2, 6-3
Champion: Kinga Kovacs

Doubles Bradley
Friday – Barbery/Maletin (BU) def. Robinson/Walker (NIU) 8-2
Saturday – Bramato/Coutino (UC) def. Barbery/Maletin (BU) 8-7 (5)
Saturday – Miceli/Santilli (UC) def. Barbery/Maletin (BU) 8-4
T3rd: Barbery/Maletin

Doubles Braves
Friday – Rodriguez/Salinas (SLU) def. Gonzalez/Perlwitz (BU) 8-7 (8)
Friday – Lojpur/Wijesinghe (BU) def. Green (NIU)/Rojo (SLU) 8-7 (2)
Saturday – Huser/Philp (UC) def. Lojpur/Wijesinghe (BU) 8-7 (3)
Saturday – Gonzalez/Perlwitz (BU) def. Bjelica/Bjelica (WIU) 8-4
Saturday – Lojpur/Wijesinghe (BU) def. Naves/Slisko (NIU) 8-0
Saturday – Ballesteros/Tagaloa (WIU) def. Gonzalez/Perlwitz (BU) 8-7 (5)
Third Place: Lojpur/Wijesinghe
Sixth Place: Gonzalez/Perlwitz

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