Southern Illinois University
Drake University
Women's Tennis topples Drake, 5-2
04/11/2010 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2010
By Michael Benson
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki women's tennis team sent out the 2010 senior class in style Sunday in Carbondale, defeating the Drake Bulldogs, 5-2, on Senior Day.
Each of the three seniors - Michela Cruise, Jessica Flannery, and Martina Vianna Ce - won in both singles and doubles in their last home matches.
"I am really proud how we played in doubles," said Southern head coach Audra Nothwehr. "We stepped it up and played to win. The seniors had a great day and dominated the lower positions. This is good momentum going into our last weekend of conference play."
The senior Salukis were simply dominant on the day. Vianna Ce teamed up with Melanie Delsart in doubles to shut out Drake's Manca Krizman and Gabriela Demos, 8-0. The Brazilian followed that up by handling Jessica Labarte 6-2, 6-1.
Cruise, a native of West Palm Beach, Fla., won her doubles match with Anastacia Simons with a quick 8-1 decision against Labarte and Earlynn Lauer. The Floridian would then go on to topple Amanda Aragon 6-2, 6-1.
Meanwhile, Flannery won her doubles match in dramatic fashion, as she and Jennifer Dien emerged from a 6-0 deficit to steal the win from Jessica Aguilera and Aragon, 8-7 (7-1). The Hamilton, Ohio, native then topped that with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over DU's Earlynn Lauer.
The final win for the Salukis was in top singles, as Delsart dominated Gabriela Demos 6-2, 6-2.
The Dawgs will hit the road next weekend, when they head west to face the Wichita State Shockers in a 10 a.m. tilt.
Players Mentioned
