The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Duquesne
Women's Tennis Stays Hot with 6-1 Win Over Duquesne
February 24 | Women's Tennis
Follow Akron Tennis on Twitter and Facebook
AKRON, Ohio – The Akron women's tennis team won its ninth straight match with a 6-1 win over Duquesne on Friday afternoon at LaTuchie Tennis Center in Stow.
With the win, the Zips improve to 10-2 on the year, while the Dukes drop to 7-4.
"Today was a total team effort from start to finish. We continue to play strong doubles, which puts us in an excellent position for singles play. I'm extremely pleased with our overall singles play today as well," said head coach Brandon Padgett.
Akron clinched the doubles point courtesy of wins from all three duos: senior Karolina Maksimava (Mogilev, Belarus)/junior Carli Knezevich (Austin, Texas), junior Ariadna Blinova (Riga, Latvia)/junior Sophia Geier (Burgebrach, Germany) and senior Shannon Newnes (Romford, London)/freshman Rita Pedroso (Porto, Portugal).
Maksimava/Knezevich notched their eighth straight doubles win with a 7-5 victory over Duquesne's Kylie Isaacs/Aishwarya Kona at the No. 1 doubles spot. Blinova/Geier and Newnes/Pedroso registered wins of 6-2 and 6-0, respectively.
In No. 1 singles action, Geier topped Isaacs in a three-set thriller (6-3, 3-6, 6-3). The junior now sits at 10-1 in singles matches this spring.
Blinova took a 6-4, 6-2 decision against the Dukes' Julianne Herman in the second singles match.
At the No. 3 singles spot, Pedroso swept (6-0, 6-0) Duquesne's Ally Miller to post her seventh straight win.
Maksimava got the best of Kona with a 6-1, 6-1 win in No. 4 singles action and Newnes registered a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (16) decision against Sara Mitrovic at the No. 6 spot.
"I'm hoping we are able to carry this momentum into tomorrow's match against Cleveland State. We are looking for a little retribution after last year's loss," added Padgett.
The Zips will be back in action tomorrow, Feb. 25 with the 2 p.m. match vs. Cleveland State at LaTuchie Tennis Center.
AKRON 6, DUQUESNE 1
LaTuchie Tennis Center
February 24, 2017
Doubles:
1. Karolina Maksimava/Carli Knezevich (UA) def. Kylie Isaacs/Aishwarya Kona, 7-5
2. Ariadna Blinova/Sophia Geier (UA) def. Julianne Herman/Ally Miller, 6-1
3. Shannon Newnes/Rita Pedroso (UA) def. Sara Mitrovic/Laurel Shymansky, 6-2
Exhibition: Carla Flores/Waverly Wituski (UA) def. Tyra Abdalla/Koralie Etienne, 6-0
Singles:
1. Sophia Geier (UA) def. Kylie Isaacs, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
2. Ariadna Blinova (UA) def. Julianne Herman, 6-4, 6-2
3. Rita Pedroso (UA) def. Ally Miller, 6-0, 6-0
4. Karolina Maksimava (UA) def. Aishwarya Kona, 6-1, 6-1
5. Laurel Shymansky (DUQ) def. Luisa Echeverry, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10)
6. Shannon Newnes (UA) def. Sara Mitrovic, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (16)
Exhibition: Carla Flores (UA) def. Zuzanna Stelmaszak, 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish:
Doubles— 2, 3, 1
Singles— 3, 4, 2, 1, 5, 6
Team Records:
Akron (10-2, 0-0 MAC)
Duquesne (7-4, 3-1 A-10)
Players Mentioned
