DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's team opened a three-match weekend with a 5-2 win over Lewis University Friday at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Fieldhouse.  NIU won its third straight match and has won six of its last seven duals to improve to 9-5 on the season.  Lewis, 49th in the Division II rankings, fell to 8-3 with the loss.
 
"We had good energy in the doubles and gutted out some tough three-set matches in singles," said NIU head coach Eric Burns.  "Overall we're very happy with the win today.  We want to keep the energy going and keep fighting. We need momentum going into conference play, so every match this weekend is really important."
 
NIU opened Friday's match by taking the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles by the teams of Diana Lukyanova and Isabella Righi and Jenna Horne and Reagan Welch, respectively. 
 
"I thought our doubles play was really solid and if we can play good doubles it's going to put us in a good position going into singles and give us a chance to win every match," Burns said. "Diana [Lukyanova] at No. 1 played amazing, their player is very tough at No. 1 and Diana pretty much steamrolled her. That was a big boost for us because we thought that might be a tough match to get."
 
In singles, Welch earned a quick, 6-3, 6-1 win over Srivally Medisheety to put the Huskies' second point on the board and senior Diana Lukyanova picked up her 77th career singles win at the No. 1 spot, defeating Lewis' Casey Smith, 6-2, 6-1 to make it 3-0 NIU. 
 
Sophomore Isabella Righi clinched the win for the Huskies at No. 3 singles. After dropping the first set to Sofiia Vdovychenko, 4-6, Righi came back to take the final two sets, 6-1, 6-4.  Nataly Ninova added the Huskies' final point with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.
 
On Saturday, the Huskies will take on Eastern Illinois beginning at 9 a.m. and St. Thomas at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Nelson Tennis Center. Follow scores and watch the matches on the NIU Huskies app or with the women's tennis schedule page links on NIUHuskies.com. Admission is free and the public is welcome.  
 
NIU Huskies 5, Lewis 2
March 08, 2024 at DeKalb, Illinois
(Nelson Tennis Center)
 
Singles
1. Diana Lukyanova (NIU-W) def. Casey Smith (LEWIS) 6-2, 6-1
2. Nataly Ninova (NIU-W) def. Brooklyn Ross (LEWIS) 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 6-2
3. Isabella Righi (NIU-W) def. Sofiia Vdovychenko (LEWIS) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
4. Reagan Welch (NIU-W) def. Srivally Medisheety (LEWIS) 6-3, 6-1
5. Bendetta Luccone (LEWIS) def. Jenna Horne (NIU-W) 6-4, 6-4
6. Sage Hills (LEWIS) def. Sydney Paradise (NIU-W) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
 
Doubles
1. Diana Lukyanova/Isabella Righi (NIU-W) def. Brooklyn Ross/Casey Smith (LEWIS) 6-3
2. Nataly Ninova/Anastasia Rakita (NIU-W) vs. Sofiia Vdovychenko/Srivally Medisheety (LEWIS) 5-3, unfinished
3. Jenna Horne/Reagan Welch (NIU-W) def. Bendetta Luccone/Sage Hills (LEWIS) 6-4
 
Match Notes:
Lewis 8-3
NIU Huskies 9-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (4,1,3,2,5,6)
 
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