Arantza De La Torre
The Northern Illinois women’s tennis team won its third match in 24 hours and recorded its 12th win of the season with a 6-1 victory over Central Arkansas Sunday morning at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines.
In improving its record to 12-1 on the season, Northern Illinois has its most wins since 2003 when the Huskies went 13-7. NIU won 11 matches a year ago. The victory over UCA was also Northern Illinois’ ninth straight as the Huskies kept their perfect road away from home intact at 10-0.
After defeating Nebraska-Omaha and Drake in a doubleheader Saturday, the Huskies were back on the courts at 10:30 a.m. Sunday to battle the Bears.
NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell was pleased with his team’s effort given the quick turnaround.
“We were exhausted today but gutted it out,” Ferrell said. “It was great to see the grit and determination to get it done. This was a tough weekend. The team responded very well.”
The Huskies won the doubles point for the 11th time in their 13 matches this spring. NIU’s No. 1 pair of Nelle Youel and Arantza De La Torre continued their undefeated streak on the spring with an 8-1 win, while the No. 2 doubles team of Haley Dekkinga and Stephanie McDonald pulled out an 8-6 victory.
Youel also improved her singles record to 13-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 1 to lead NIU. McDonald went one better, shutting out Anna Buyukyan of Central Arkansas 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6. De La Torre and Cristina Alvarez recorded straight-set wins at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, respectively.
For more information on NIU women’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
