KEARNEY, Neb. – In the team’s final match before the MIAA Championships, Missouri Western (11-12, 2-7 MIAA) fell to Nebraska Kearney (14-12, 3-6 MIAA) in an afternoon road match. The Lopers topped the Griffons 6-1, winning five out of six singles matches after a competitive series of doubles matches.
Nebraska Kearney escaped with the doubles point after two back-and-forth matches on the number one and two courts. Karolina Ström and Joanna Abreu Roman fell by a score of 6-4 in their match. Despite the loss, Ström and Abreu Roman have won seven of their last 10 doubles matches. In the final doubles match, Mireia Birosta and Erica Dunn fell by the same score, giving the Lopers the advantage entering singles.
Missouri Western lost the first five singles matches. Both Abreu Roman and Federica Salmaso suffered narrow losses in their matches. After splitting the first two sets with her opponent, Abreu Roman was edged 10-8 in the third and final set in her last regular season match.
Bojana Vuksan gave Missouri Western its lone win in the singles. Vuksan outlasted her opponent for a 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 victory. Monday’s win gives Vuksan her 10th of the season, and is also her second-straight win.
The Griffons will have over one week away from competition before they travel to Oklahoma City for the MIAA Championships beginning on April 26.
MWSU VS. UNK
SINGLES
#45 Vasilisa Polunova (UNK) def. Karolina Ström (MWSU) 6-3, 6-1
Zhanel Turarbek (UNK) def. Mireia Birosta (MWSU) 6-2, 6-0
Sherry Sun (UNK) def. Joanna Abreu Roman (MWSU) 5-7, 6-3, 10-8
Fidan Ibrahimova (UNK) def. Federica Salmaso (MWSU) 7-5, 6-4
Claire Neil (UNK) def. Erica Dunn (MWSU) 6-1, 6-0
Bojana Vuksan (MWSU) def. Pranathi Gannavaram (UNK) 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
DOUBLES
Polunova/Turarbek (UNK) def. Ström/Abreu Roman (MWSU) 6-4
Sun/Ibrahimova (UNK) def. Birosta/Dunn (MWSU) 6-4
Neil/Parnell (UNK) def. Vuksan/Salmaso (MWSU) 6-0
— MWSU Athletics —