Women’s Tennis Drops 5-2 Battle To DePaul

OMAHA, Neb. – The Creighton women's tennis team suffered just its second loss of the season, falling to DePaul, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon at the Hanscom Tennis Center in Omaha. The match lasted three hours and 37 minutes, the second longest match of the season.

The Bluejays dropped to 8-2 this spring and 1-1 in BIG EAST action, while the Blue Demons improved to 6-5 on the year and 2-0 in BIG EAST play.

"This was a great match against a team coming off a win over No. 40 Iowa," said head coach Tom Lilly. "We had chances in the doubles after a rocky start and then had to pull Kate out. I believe we are getting healthier and that will be big for us moving forward. Credit DePaul for stepping up and playing some tough points when they needed them."

Senior Kate Krueger and junior Bianca Rademacher got the Bluejays off to a promising start with a 6-2 win at the No. 3 doubles position. DePaul, however, responded with a 6-4 win at the No. 2 doubles spot before claiming the first point of the match with a 7-6 (7-4) win at the top doubles position.

DePaul would seal the overall dual with wins at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions, before Creighton earned a pair of three-set victories at the No. 1 and No. 4 singles spots.

Rademacher picked up her sixth singles win of the season as DePaul's Lenka Antonijevic was forced to retire in the third set. Rademacher opened with a 6-4 win in set one before falling 7-5 in set two. In the decisive third set, Rademacher led 2-0 before Antonijevic retired to give Creighton its first point of the match.

Freshman Ana Paula Martinez then suffered her first singles loss of the season as Eleanor Nobbs sneaked out with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 three-set victory at the No. 2 singles spot.

Junior Malvika Shukla, however, extended her singles winning streak out to 13 straight matches with a three-set triumph at the top singles position. Shukla gutted out the first set, 7-6 (9-7), over Yuliya Kizelbasheva. Kizelbasheva answered with a 6-4 win in set two, forcing a decisive third set. Shukla raced out to a 4-0 lead before closing out the match with a 6-2 victory.

Creighton starts play in Orlando on March 6 against Rochester and St. Francis (Ill.) for the first of five matches in five days at the USTA Tennis Center.

DePaul 5, Creighton 2
Feb 26, 2023 at Omaha, Neb. (Hanscom Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Malvika Shukla (CU) def. Kizelbasheva,Yuliya (DPU) 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-2

2. Nobbs,Eleanor (DPU) def. Ana Paula Martinez (CU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-3

3. Smith,Hannah (DPU) def. Valerie Negin (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1

4. Bianca Rademacher (CU) def. Antonijevic,Lenka (DPU) 6-4, 5-7, 2-0, retired

5. Martin,Valentina (DPU) def. Leanne Kendall (CU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1

6. Yergler,Maddie (DPU) def. Siri Kongara (CU) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Antonijevic,Lenka/Nobbs,Eleanor (DPU) def. Malvika Shukla/Leanne Kendall (CU) 7-6 (7-4)

2. Carbone,Greta/Smith,Hannah (DPU) def. Ana Paula Martinez/Valerie Negin (CU) 6-4

3. Kate Krueger/Bianca Rademacher (CU) def. Kizelbasheva,Yuliya/Yergler,Maddie (DPU) 6-2

Match Notes

DePaul 6-5, 2-0 BE

Creighton 8-2, 1-1 BE

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,5,4,2,1)

T-3:37

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Leanne Kendall

Siri Kongara

Kate Krueger

Ana Paula Martinez

Valerie Negin

Bianca Rademacher

Malvika Shukla