Senior Kelly Douple returns a shot against the Huskies in Miami's only conference game in Oxford this year. The team's 7-1 finish earned a No. 2 seed in the MAC tournament.
The Miami University women's tennis team closed out its regular season at home Friday with a quick and confident 7-0 victory over Northern Illinois University.
All this was done without their No. 1 player, Anastasia Dracheva, who missed the match due to sickness. With the win, the RedHawks earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament.
This victory was the eighth 7-0 shutout that the Red and White has recorded this year, placing this year's squad ahead of all other Miami teams since making the switch to the seven-point scoring system.
Additionally, senior Kelly Douple finished out the regular season with an undefeated 8-0 singles record in MAC play.
With Friday's triumph, the RedHawks saw their record improve to 13-6 overall and 7-1 in the MAC. Meanwhile, the NIU Huskies fell to 3-12 on the season and 1-6 in the league.
"The girls really performed well today," said Miami head coach Howard Joffe. "Our opponents weren't the toughest but it was good to end the season a high note."
The 'Hawks put the scoring ball in their own court early on as they flew through the doubles portion of the competition in about half an hour and established a 1-0 lead. All three of Miami's doubles tandems won by impressive 8-1 margins.
Freshmen Megan Martzolf and Cara Wald notched a win against NIU's Nao Umemura and Brooke Forsberg at No. 1 doubles; senior Leda Pesatova and freshman Sydnee Bridger defeated NIU's Lillian Asuaje and Kathryn Friedlund at No. 2 doubles, and Douple and sophomore Brintney Larson rounded out the doubles sweep with a victory over NIU's Jenny Edner and Dora Delgadillo at No. 3 doubles.
"I think the team is feeling really well," Larson said. "All of us girls ... feel that this year is our year."
The Red and White extended its dominant play into the singles portion as well, swiftly winning all flights in straight sets.
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Douple collected an 8-0 league record on the season with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over NIU's Forseberg at No. 4 singles. After being sidelined for an injury since Miami's first MAC match at Ball State on March 22, Wald reappeared on the court and battled strongly to an impressive 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles over NIU's Edner.
"It was good to have Cara Wald back in the lineup," Joffe said. "Our team hasn't been fully healthy since February so we're still in the process of getting all the girls to 100 percent."
Wrapping things up in the sixth flight was Miami senior Victoria Pulido, who beat NIU's Delgadillo 6-2, 6-4.
Prior to the matches, Miami's three seniors-Douple, Pesatova and Pulido-were honored at the Hepburn Varsity Tennis Courts. Due to inclement weather conditions earlier in the season, this marked the first time that the team was able to compete on Miami's home outdoor courts this season, and the last regular season match for this senior trio.
The Red and White now looks to the post-season to continue their winning ways. Joffe is setting the bar high for his team in the MAC tournament.
"Our record shows that we've performed well thus far but really, we could have done even better," Joffe said. "We had a rough loss last week versus Western Michigan but really the match could have gone either way ... We're excited to meet them in the MAC tournament."
Martzoff echoed Joffe's sentiment, emphasizing the team's enthusiasm to prove itself post-season.
"It was good to end a strong season with such a strong win," Martzoff said. "Right now we just have to keep this momentum and carry it all the way through the MAC tournament in Buffalo."
Filling in for a sick Anastasia Dracheva, the team's usual No. 1 starter, Larson cruised to her seventh conference victory on the year at the top spot, leaving her with only one loss in the MAC this season.
She made it very clear that the team has only one mission from here on out.
"Our goal is simple," Larson said. "Win the MAC tournament."
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