Women’s Tennis Suffers 6-1 Setback At Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Creighton women's tennis team fell to Minnesota, 6-1, on Friday afternoon at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

The Bluejays moved to 0-2 on the season following the loss, while the Golden Gophers improved to 4-0 overall.

Minnesota earned the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Creighton dropped a 6-3 decision on court No. 3 before falling 6-4 on court No. 1. Minnesota also held a 5-4 lead at the No. 2 doubles position before the other two matches were completed.

The Golden Gophers continued their success into singles play, claiming the overall match with victories at the bottom five singles positions.

Seniors Malvika Shukla delivered the strongest performance for Creighton, earning a three-set victory over Mia Liepert. Shukla, the reigning BIG EAST Singles Player of the Week, opened her singles match with a 6-4, but dropped a tight 7-6 (7-3) tiebreaker to Liepert in the second frame. In the decisive third set, Shukla soared out an early 4-2 lead before rolling to a 10-5 victory.

"We had our chances in doubles but didn't capitalize," said head coach Tom Lilly. "We split the 10-point tiebreakers and competed hard but we just need to be more consistent throughout the line up to beat a really good team like Minnesota. We'll continue to get better."

The Bluejays return to the court tomorrow morning for a match against Minnesota State – Mankato. First serve is schedule for 10 a.m. at the Swanson Tennis Center in St. Peter, Minn.

Minnesota 6, Creighton 1
1/26/2024 at Minneapolis, MN (Baseline Tennis Center)

Singles competition

1. Malvika Shukla (CU) def. Mia Liepert (MINN) 6-4, 6-7, 10-5

2. Aiva Schmitz (MINN) def. Valerie Negin (CU) 6-0, 6-1

3. Anali Kocevar (MINN) def. Bianca Rademacher (CU) 6-4, 4-6, 10-4

4. Emma Belluomini (MINN) def. Ana Paula Martinez (CU) 6-2, 6-3

5. Sofia Pinto (MINN) def. Annika Elvestrom (CU) 7-6, 6-1

6. Sofia Pizzoni (MINN) def. Allison Wilcox (CU) 6-0, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Mia Liepert/Sofia Pinto (MINN) def. Valerie Negin/Bianca Rademacher (CU) 6-4

2. Emma Belluomini/Anali Kocevar (MINN) def. Malvika Shukla/Ana Paula Martinez (CU) 5-4

3. Sofia Pizzoni/Aiva Schmitz (MINN) def. Allison Wilcox/Annika Elvestrom (CU) 6-3

Match Notes

Creighton 0-2

Minnesota 3-0

Next Event

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Annika Elvestrom

Ana Paula Martinez

Valerie Negin

Bianca Rademacher

Malvika Shukla