March 6, 2011

ROCKFORD, Ill. - The Northern Illinois women's tennis team fell to Northern Iowa, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Boylan Tennis Center. The Panthers improved to 7-5 on the season with the victory while the Huskies dropped to 2-7.

"We didn't have any energy during doubles," said NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell. "But we responded by playing very good in singles. Northern Iowa is a very good team; they should finish in the top two in the Missouri Valley Conference. This was a good teaching moment though. Our players understand now how things need to be from the first ball of a match. Good things are on the horizon for us."

Northern Iowa swept the double point with a pair of 8-3 victories at flights two and three, as well as an 8-5 victory by Laia Gonzalez and Phoebe Walker over Kelly Phillips and Emily Rogers at flight one.

In singles play, Sara McLaughlin claimed the lone set of the afternoon for the Huskies, taking the second set in her match at number five. McLaughlin fell 6-0 to Krissy Lankelma to open the match before responding with a 6-4 win in set two. The third set came down to the wire, but Lankelma ultimately held off McLaughlin, taking the third set 7-5.

At number one, Phillips played a tight first set with Walker, falling 7-5, before dropping the second set 6-1.

Haley Dekkinga fell in a competitive match in the fourth flight, 6-3, 6-3 to Jessica Kunzelmann and Martina Schnapp claimed five games in her match at number two.

The Huskies will be off for nearly three weeks as they return to action on Saturday, March 26, when they host Chicago State at the Boylan Tennis Center in Rockford, Ill. The match is set to begin 4:30 p.m.

Doubles
1) Laia Gonzalez/Phoebe Walker (UNI) def. Kelly Phillips/Emily Rogers (NIU), 8-5         
2) Krissy Lankelma/Jessica Kunzelmann (UNI) def. Haley Dekkinga/Ilse Pacheco (NIU), 8-3        
3) Lara Okicki/Chelsea Moore (UNI) def. Sara McLaughlin/Martina Schnapp (NIU), 8-3

Singles
1) Phoebe Walker (UNI) def. Kelly Phillips (NIU), 7-5, 6-1
2) Laia Gonzalez (UNI) def. Martina Schnapp (NIU), 6-3, 6-2
3) Lara Okicki (UNI) def. Emily Rogers (NIU), 6-1, 6-1
4) Jessica Kunzelmann (UNI) def. Haley Dekkinga (NIU), 6-3, 6-3
5) Krissy Lankelma (UNI) def. Sara McLaughlin (NIU), 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
6) Chelsea Moore (UNI) def. Ilse Pacheco (NIU), 6-1, 6-0