April 9, 2011

DEKALB, Ill. - Haley Dekkinga won both her singles and doubles match but the Northern Illinois women's tennis team fell to Ball State, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the Huskie Tennis Courts. Dekkinga picked up her sixth singles victory of the season and teamed with Emily Rogers to claim victory in doubles.

"We looked tough and played well, played with emotion, it was just a little too emotional," said NIU head coach Ryun Ferrell. "We are a young team and we are going to learn from this. Right now we just need to take a step back and learn from this. The most positive thing is that the effort is still there, I am getting everything they have from this entire team. We just need to play smarter and just slow down."

NIU jumped out to a good start as Dekkinga and Rogers cruised to an 8-0 victory at number one doubles. After Ball State took the match at second doubles, Katie Friedlund and Sara McLaughlin edged out a 9-7 win at number three to give the Huskies the doubles point.

In singles, Dekkinga defeated Paola Rodriguez 6-4 in the first set at number five, but then dropped the second set, 2-6. Dekkinga recovered to take the third set 6-4 to win the match.

"She played great, I always know what to expect from her and I never worry about her," Ferrell said of Dekkinga. "She showed great maturity today, she was a little vulnerable at one point but she still found a way to pull through and she grew a lot today."

McLaughlin split the first two sets of her match at number four against Dena Boulieris, falling in a tight first set 7-6 before rebounding to take the second set, 6-3. Boulieris claimed the third set super-tiebreaker 10-6 to win the match.

The Cardinals also won the other four singles matches to win the dual meet.

NIU will be back in action next weekend as it returns to the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches. The Huskies will travel to Buffalo on Friday, April 15, before meeting Akron on Saturday, April 16.


Ball State 5, Northern Illinois 2

Doubles
1. Dekkinga/Rogers (NIU) def. Rodriguez/Hebble (BSU), 8-0
2. Friedlund/McLaughlin (NIU) def. Boulieris/Thomson (BSU), 9-7
3. Sanders/Pickrel (BSU) def. Phillips/Pacheco (NIU), 8-5

Singles
1. Georgina Thomson (BSU) def. Kelly Phillips (NIU), 6-3, 6-0
2. Kristel Sanders (BSU) def. Martina Schnapp (NIU), 6-4, 6-4
3. Sarah Hebble (BSU) def. Emily Rogers (NIU), 6-3, 6-3
4. Dena Boulieris (BSU) def. Sara McLaughlin (NIU), 7-6, 3-6, 10-6
5. Haley Dekkinga (NIU) def. Paola Rodriguez (BSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
6. Lauren Pickrel (BSU) def. Ilse Pacheco (NIU), 6-4, 6-3