VALPARAISO, Ind. – Sophomore Isabella Righi defeated Valparaiso's Jolene Fernandes 7-5 in a third-set tiebreaker to give the Northern Illinois University women's tennis team a 4-3 win over the Beacons Saturday at The Courts of NWI.
 
Righi, playing at No. 3 singles for the Huskies, dropped the first set 6-2 before coming back to tie the match with a 6-3 win in the second set. In the deciding set, she led 5-2 before Fernandes battled back to force the tiebreaker.  Fernandes took a 5-3 lead in the tiebreaker, but Righi scored four straight points giving the Huskies the win.
 
NIU improved to 7-5 on the season and wrapped up an eight-match February road swing with a 5-3 mark.
 
"Isa's match was a rollercoaster," said NIU head coach Eric Burns. "She fought back only to grab a 5-2 lead in the third set and then see it dissipate. This match came down to a third set for her last year too with the match on the line and it didn't go her way. Both players fought really hard and I'm just so happy it went Isa's way today."
 
The Huskies opened the match by winning the doubles point as Righi and Diana Lukyanova clinched the point with a 6-3 win at the No. 2 position after Reagan Welch and Anastasia Rakita scored a 6-2 win at No. 3 doubles.
 
NIU went ahead 2-0 as sophomore Nataly Ninova dispatched Mia Bertino at four singles. Welch's 6-1, 6-3 win at the No. 5 spot put the Huskies' ahead 3-1 before Valpo came back with wins at No. 6 and No. 2 singles to tie the match.
 
All four of the meetings between NIU and Valpo over the last four seasons have been decided by a 4-3 score with the road team winning each match.
 
"This match was quite a battle as it typically is with Valpo," Burns said. "They fight like crazy every time we play them, so I am really proud of our effort today. The doubles really set the tone in this match and got us off to the start we needed. But even with the doubles it was a battle to get three singles wins. Overall, it was a great team win."
 
NIU returns to action at home on Friday, March 1 as they take on UW-Whitewater in the Nelson Tennis Center.
 
NIU Huskies 4, Valparaiso 3
02-24-24 at Valparaiso, Ind.
(The Courts of NWI)
 
Singles
1. Silva, Moira (VALPO) def. Erika Dimitriev (NIU-W) 6-1, 6-2
2. Czerwonka, Olivia (VALPO) def. Diana Lukyanova (NIU-W) 6-4, 6-4
3. Isabella Righi (NIU-W) def. Fernandes, Jolene (VALPO) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Nataly Ninova (NIU-W) def. Bertino, Mia (VALPO) 6-0, 6-2
5. Reagan Welch (NIU-W) def. Sobieski, Elizabeth (VALPO) 6-1, 6-3
6. Stone, Sydney (VALPO) def. Jenna Horne (NIU-W) 6-2, 7-5
 
Doubles
1. Czerwonka, Olivia/Silva, Moira (VALPO) def. Erika Dimitriev/Nataly Ninova (NIU-W) 6-4
2. Diana Lukyanova/Isabella Righi (NIU-W) def. Fernandes, Jolene/Bertino, Mia (VALPO) 6-3
3. Anastasia Rakita/Reagan Welch (NIU-W) def. Stone, Sydney/Sobieski, Elizabeth (VALPO) 6-2
 
Match Notes:
NIU Huskies 7-5
Valparaiso 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,5,6,2,3)
 
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