LAS VEGAS – Coming off a tough 4-3 loss to UMKC in its Summit League opener on Thursday, the IUPUI women’s tennis team looked to rebound on Friday with a pair of conference matches against Oakland and Southern Utah, but the Jaguars came up short in both matches falling to the Golden Grizzlies, 4-3, before dropping a 6-1 decision to the Thunderbirds.

 

IUPUI didn’t get off to the start it wanted to against Oakland with its top two doubles teams falling for the second time in as many matches by scores of 8-6 and 8-2, respectively.

 

However, for the second day in a row, Shelby Hullett and Jesika Bays emerged victorious from the final doubles match giving IUPUI some momentum heading into singles play.

 

Four of the six singles match went to a third a final set, beginning with the No. 3 singles match between Vanessa Whyte and Karen Karoub. Whyte opened things up with a comfortable 6-2 win in the opening set, before Karoub responded with a 6-1 second-set win. The third set was more competitive than the first two and Whyte used a break to pick up a 6-4 third-set win, tying the match up at 1-1.

 

After Oakland recaptured the lead with Jackie Dinicu defeating Danielle Haefele in three sets, Lee Matthews evened the match at 2-2 after picking up a 6-3, 7-6 win at No. 5 singles.

 

The Jaguars took their first lead of the day courtesy of a win by Hullett at the top of the order. Hullett got out to the early lead winning the first set 6-4, but Oakland’s Caitlin Young squared things up with a 6-4 second-set win. The third set looked to be as competitive as the first two, but Hullett erased all doubt and cruised to a 6-1 third-set win placing IUPUI on top, 3-2.

 

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, the Golden Grizzlies used straight-set wins at the No. 4 and No. 6 positions to rally for the 4-3 win.

 

1. Shelby Hullett (IUPUI) def. Caitlin Young (OAKLAND) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1

2. Jackie Dinicu (OAKLAND) def. Danielle Haefele (IUPUI) 6-0, 4-6, 6-0

3. Vanessa Whyte (IUPUI) def. Karen Karoub (OAKLAND) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4

4. Gace Keating (OAKLAND) def. Alisha Cummings (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-3

5. Lee Matthews (IUPUI) def. Demi Georgakopoulos (OAKLAND) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)

6. Amanda Pettey (OAKLAND) def. Jesika Bays (IUPUI) 6-1, 7-5

1. Caitlin Young/Jackie Dinicu (OAKLAND) def. Alisha Cummings/Danielle Haefele (IUPUI) 8-6

2. Karen Karoub/Demi Georgakopoulos (OAKLAND) def. Vanessa Whyte/Lee Matthews (IUPUI) 8-2

3. Jesika Bays/Shelby Hullett (IUPUI) def. Gace Keating/Amanda Pettey (OAKLAND) 8-4

 

-- Looking to salvage a split on the day after losing to Oakland, 4-3, to start the day, the Jags continued their struggles in doubles play as all three of the Jags doubles duos went down pushing the Thunderbirds to an early lead.

 

It didn’t get much better for IUPUI in singles play as Hullett, Haefele, and Cummings struggled and each dropped straight-set decisions clinching the victory for SUU.

Following a pair of wins from Southern Utah at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots, IUPUI got on the board in the last match with Whyte picking up her third singles victory of the weekend.

 

Whyte trailed early losing the opening set, 6-2, but from that point she flipped the script and responded with a dominating 6-1 second-set win, before closing out the match with a 6-3 third-set victory.

 

The Jags conclude their first weekend of conference play on Saturday, March 19, against Centenary.

 

1. Ksusha Nazarova (SUU) def. Shelby Hullett (IUPUI) 6-2, 6-2

2. Alex Ivanova (SUU) def. Danielle Haefele (IUPUI) 6-0, 6-2

3. Vanessa Whyte (IUPUI) def. Olia Tatarchenko (SUU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3

4. Kirrily Burden (SUU) def. Alisha Cummings (IUPUI) 6-3, 6-1

5. Danica Ingwaldson (SUU) def. Lee Matthews (IUPUI) 6-3, 6-4

6. Afton Staheli (SUU) def. Jesika Bays (IUPUI) 6-0, 5-7, 1-0 (11-9)

1. Ksusha Nazarova/Olia Tatarchenko (SUU) def. Alisha Cummings/Danielle Haefele (IUPUI) 8-1

2. Alex Ivanova/Kirrily Burden (SUU) def. Vanessa Whyte/Lee Matthews (IUPUI) 8-2

3. Danica Ingwaldson/Afton Staheli (SUU) def. Jesika Bays/Shelby Hullett (IUPUI) 8-0