Wednesday, March 8
Orlando, Fla.
2:00 P.M.
Creighton University
3
vs
4
Butler
Photo by: Corey Solotorovsky
Women’s Tennis Narrowly Falls To Butler, 4-3
3/8/2023 6:27:00 PM | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Creighton women's tennis team narrowly fell to Butler, 4-3 during a BIG EAST match at the USTA National Campus on Wednesday afternoon in Orlando, Florida.
The Bluejays drop to 11-3 on the year and 2-2 in BIG EAST play, while Butler improved to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in league action.
Wednesday's match needed eight matches to decide a winner, including a dramatic three-set match at the No. 4 singles to end the match.
Freshman Ana Paula Martinez controlled the opening frame at the No. 4 singles position with a 6-2 win but Butler's Norah Balthazor knotted the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. The deciding frame went back-and-forth until the Bulldogs earned a 7-6 (7-0) victory.
Creighton earned the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Martinez and sophomore Valerie Negin teamed up for a 6-2 win at the No. 2 doubles slot before Kate Krueger and Bianca Rademacher combined for a 6-4 victory at the No. 3 doubles position to earn the first point of the match.
Butler responded with a pair of wins at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles positions to take a 2-1 lead in match.
Junior Malvika Shukla answered with a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win at the top singles position to level the match at 2-2. Shukla has now won all 13 singles matches she has played and has won 16 straight singles match dating back to the fall.
Negin followed with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at the No. 3 singles spot to regain the lead for the Bluejays.
Butler, however, evened the overall score at 3-3 with a 6-2, 7-5 with. at the No. 6 spot to set up a winner-take-all situation at the No. 4 singles slot.
"We got outplayed today and it is frustrating to lose this way," said head coach Tom Lilly. "Give credit to Butler for making the most of their opportunities. We broke down on three courts today and just didn't have our full competitive spirit. We will need to toughen up mentally real soon if we want any chance in our next match."
Creighton wraps up their stay in Florida on Friday with a BIG EAST matchup against Connecticut starting at 2:30 p.m. Central from the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
The Bluejays drop to 11-3 on the year and 2-2 in BIG EAST play, while Butler improved to 5-9 overall and 2-1 in league action.
Wednesday's match needed eight matches to decide a winner, including a dramatic three-set match at the No. 4 singles to end the match.
Freshman Ana Paula Martinez controlled the opening frame at the No. 4 singles position with a 6-2 win but Butler's Norah Balthazor knotted the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. The deciding frame went back-and-forth until the Bulldogs earned a 7-6 (7-0) victory.
Creighton earned the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Martinez and sophomore Valerie Negin teamed up for a 6-2 win at the No. 2 doubles slot before Kate Krueger and Bianca Rademacher combined for a 6-4 victory at the No. 3 doubles position to earn the first point of the match.
Butler responded with a pair of wins at the No. 2 and No. 5 singles positions to take a 2-1 lead in match.
Junior Malvika Shukla answered with a 6-3, 6-3 straight sets win at the top singles position to level the match at 2-2. Shukla has now won all 13 singles matches she has played and has won 16 straight singles match dating back to the fall.
Negin followed with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at the No. 3 singles spot to regain the lead for the Bluejays.
Butler, however, evened the overall score at 3-3 with a 6-2, 7-5 with. at the No. 6 spot to set up a winner-take-all situation at the No. 4 singles slot.
"We got outplayed today and it is frustrating to lose this way," said head coach Tom Lilly. "Give credit to Butler for making the most of their opportunities. We broke down on three courts today and just didn't have our full competitive spirit. We will need to toughen up mentally real soon if we want any chance in our next match."
Creighton wraps up their stay in Florida on Friday with a BIG EAST matchup against Connecticut starting at 2:30 p.m. Central from the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Natalie Boesing / 0 [BUT]
33
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Delaney Schurhamer / 0 [BUT]
66
22
#3 Singles Match
12
Chase Metcalf / 0 [BUT]
43
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Norah Balthazor / 0 [BUT]
267
636
#5 Singles Match
12
Katie Beavin / 0 [BUT]
66
02
#6 Singles Match
12
Emma Beavin / 0 [BUT]
67
25
Order of Finish:
5,2,1,3,6,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Creighton Men's Tennis Final Point and Celebration vs. Xavier, 4/19/25
Saturday, April 19
Creighton Men's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/30/25
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Creighton Women's Tennis Postgame vs. North Dakota, 3/29/25
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Crieghton Men's Tennis Postmatch vs. Butler, 2/16/25
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