Braves Start Strong at NIU Huskie Invite

Bradley players combine for 11-4 singles and doubles record during the first day of tournament action

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Women's Tennis 9/7/2018 11:01:00 PM

AURORA, IL – By combining for an 11-4 record in singles and doubles competition, Bradley has placed a player in the championship round of all three singles flights, while also advance a doubles team into the semifinals of one bracket, following the first day of play in the NIU Huskie Invite Friday at Vaughn Tennis Center.

A Missouri Valley Conference All-Select pick as a freshman last year, sophomore Sandra Maletin set the tone for the Braves in the team's first action of the year, cruising to a pair of straight-sets victories to reach the championship match of the Red Singles flight. Maletin downed Jovan Peric of the host Huskies (6-2, 6-3) then followed up with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Omaha's Ines Absisan. Freshman Bozana Lojpur won her first collegiate match to start the bottom of the Red Singles draw, taking a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win against Omaha's Janelle Wilson, before bowing to NIU's Paula Veyhle in the second round.

Junior Natalia Barbery advanced to the Black Singles championship match with two wins Friday. After battling through a 3-set win against Omaha's Maria Kapelevich, Barbery had a much easier time in the second set, rolling to a 6-3, 6-0 win against Omaha's Savanna Crowell. Senior Malini Wijesinghe dropped a 3-set decision in her opening match in Black Singles, but came back with a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Green Bay's Monika Gredzinski in the consolation draw.

A pair of Bradley freshmen are competing in the White Singles bracket, where the Braves again advanced one player to the championship round. Nikki Perlwitz opened with a lopsided win against NIU's Julia Dmitrieva, then outlasted Omaha's Emily Behling in a pair of tie-breakers in the semifinals. Fellow freshman Mayu Tezuka opened her college career with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win, but came up short in an epic semifinal match that saw all three sets go to a tie-breaker.

Bradley advanced two doubles teams to the semifinals of the Red Doubles bracket. While Barbery/Maletin received a first-round bye, the duo of Lojpur/Wijesinghe blanked their opponents from Omaha to join their Bradley teammates in the semifinals.

The NIU Huskie Invite will resume at 8 a.m. Saturday – outdoors at the West Tennis Courts on the NIU campus or indoors at the Vaughn Tennis Center.

RED SINGLES
Sandra Maletin (BU) def. Jovan Peric (NIU) 6-2, 6-3
Sandra Maletin (BU) def. Ines Absisan (Omaha) 6-3, 6-4
Bozana Lojpur (BU) def. Janelle Wilson (Omaha) 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5
Paula Veyhle (NIU) def. Bozana Lojpur (Bradley) – Score not reported

Saturday
Championship: Sandra Maletin (BU) vs. Paula Veyhle (NIU)
Consolation: Bozana Lojpur (BU) vs. Ines Absisan (Omaha)

BLACK SINGLES
Natalia Lorentz (Omaha) def. Malini Wijesinghe (BU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Malini Wijesinghe (BU) def. Monika Gredzinski (GB) 6-1, 6-2
Natalia Barbery (BU) def. Marie Kapelevich (Omaha) 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
Natalia Barbery (BU) def. Savanna Crowell (Omaha) 6-3, 6-0

Saturday
Consolation Championship: Malini Wijesinghe (BU) vs. Fernanda Naves (NIU)
Championship: Natalia Barbery (BU) vs. Brodie Walker (NIU)
Consolation: Malini Wijesinghe (BU) vs. Savanna Crowell (Omaha)

WHITE SINGLES
Mayu Tezuka (BU) def. Tallie Piaskowski (GB) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
Rylee Tucker (Omaha) def. Mayu Tezuka (BU) 6-7 (8), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8)
Nikki Perlwitz (BU) def. Julia Dmitrieva (NIU) 6-1, 6-3
Nikki Perlwitz (BU) def. Emily Behling (Omaha) 7-6 (4), 7-6

Saturday
Championship: Nikki Perlwitz (BU) vs. Rylee Tucker (Omaha)
Consolation: Mayu Tezuka (BU) vs. Emily Behling (Omaha)

SINGLES ROUND ROBIN
Kinga Kovacs (BU) def. Mary Ellen Green (NIU) 6-2, 6-3

Saturday: Kinga Kovacs (BU) vs. Clare Crockett (Omaha)

RED DOUBLES
Barbery/Maletin (BU) BYE
Lojpur/Wijesinghe (BU) def. Crowell/Wilson (Omaha) 8-0

Saturday
Barbery/Maletin (BU) vs. Absisan/Lorentz (Omaha)
Lojpur/Wijesinghe (BU) vs. Peric/Potsi (NIU)

BLACK DOUBLES
Naves/Robinson (NIU) def. Perlwitz/Tezuka (BU) 8-6
Behling/Tucker (Omaha) def. Kovacs (BU)/Green (NIU) 8-0

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