Southern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois
Salukis pick up 5-2 win over Eastern Illinois in home opener
02/23/2015 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In its first home match of the spring season, the Saluki women's tennis team snapped a six-match losing streak to come away with a 5-2 victory over Eastern Illinois. The Salukis are now 2-6 on the season and undefeated at home.
The Salukis opened the match with strong performances in doubles, coming away with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions to secure the doubles point. SIU's No. 1 doubles pair, Natasha Tomishima and Meagan Monaghan, is now 12-6 as a pair this season overall.
Eastern Illinois took the match at the No. 2 doubles position, coming away with a 6-3 victory, but a close 7-5 win at the No. 3 position for the Salukis allowed SIU to earn the doubles point.
"Eastern was especially tough today in doubles, so we were lucky to get the doubles point," head coach Audra Anderson said.
Four singles wins at the top and bottom two slots propelled the Salukis to take the match. Tomishima, Monaghan and Gisela Cairo Baza each topped their opponents in two sets at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 spots, respectively. Vitoria Beirao fought for a win at the No. 5 position, falling 1-6 in the first set and rallying back to take the second two, 6-2, 6-1, to earn the win.
"It feels good to get this win," Anderson said. "All the girls battled hard."
The Salukis return to the court on Friday to face Austin Peay at 4:30, followed by Northern Illinois on Saturday at 9 a.m. All home matches are being played at Garden Grove Events Center in Carbondale.
Complete Results
Doubles
W: Tomishima/Monaghan (SIU) def. Summers/Boulbahaiem (EIU) 6-2
L: Foster/Kimbrough (EIU) def. Beirao/Dozortseva (SIU) 6-3
W: Golovkina/A. Cairo Baza (SIU) def. Iden/Stadalninkaite (EIU) 7-5
Singles
W: Natasha Tomishima (SIU) def. Kelly Iden (EIU) 6-4, 6-2
W: Meagan Monaghan (SIU) def. Grace Summers (EIU) 6-3, 6-3
L: Ali Foster (EIU) def. Yana Golovkina (SIU) 6-4, 7-5
L: Sephora Boulbahaiem (EIU) def. Athena Chrysanthou (SIU) 6-2, 7-5
W: Vitoria Beirao (SIU) def. Kamile Stadalninkaite (EIU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1
W: Gisela Cairo Baza (SIU) def. Hannah Kimbrough (EIU) 6-3, 6-0
Players Mentioned
