Huskies Drop 5-2 Decision to Miami

DeKALB, Illinois – Angelica Ross and Christy Robinson scored super tiebreaker wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively, to account for Northern Illinois University’s two points as the Huskie women’s tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to Mid-American Conference foe Miami University Friday in the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
 
Ross defeated Miami’s Emilia Valentinsson 10-8 in the super tiebreaker after falling 9-7 in the second set tiebreaker. Robinson defeated MU’s Sarah Dev, 10-7, in the tiebreaker.
 
The Huskie victories came after the RedHawks had clinched the match by taking the first five points, beginning with the doubles point as they won at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. They earned a second win when sophomore Anastasia Rakita was forced to retire at No. 3 singles. The RedHawks’ Brindtha Ramasamy and Sara Zalukar recorded wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, with Zalukar 6-3, 6-3 win over Reagan Welch clinching the victory for Miami, which improved to 4-0 in the MAC, 10-8 overall.
 
Despite the loss, which dropped the Huskies to 13-9 overall, 0-4 in the MAC, NIU head coach Eric Burns saw positives in NIU’s play.
 
“I’m proud of the way our team fought today,” Burns said. “I feel like we are playing pretty solid tennis and today we improved in a lot of areas, we just aren’t seeing the results we want at the moment. Our opponents have had a lot to do with that lately. We are just going to try to hang in there and keep working hard to improve. We need to not lose confidence because regardless of the results, we are still playing pretty well out there.”
 
NIU returns to action Sunday when they take on Ball State in Muncie, Indiana at Noon CT. Follow live scores at the link above.
 
Miami 5, NIU 2
Apr 1, 2022 at DeKalb, Ill.
(Chick Evans Field House)
 
Singles
1. Brindtha Ramasamy (MIAMI) def. Erika Dimitriev (NIU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Laura Rico (MIAMI) def. Diana Lukyanova (NIU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Nishitha Saravanan (MIAMI) def. Anastasia Rakita (NIU) 5-2, retired
4. Sara Zalukar (MIAMI) def. Reagan Welch (NIU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Angelica Ross (NIU) def. Emilia Valentinsson (MIAMI) 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 1-0 (10-8)
6. Christy Robinson (NIU) def. Sarah Dev (MIAMI) 6-4, 0-6, 1-0 (10-7)
 
Doubles
1. Brindtha Ramasamy/Laura Rico (MIAMI) def. Erika Dimitriev/Anastasia Rakita (NIU) 6-2
2. Iuliia Dmitrieva/Reagan Welch (NIU) vs. Emilia Valentinsson/Sarah Dev (MIAMI) 3-4, unfinished
3. Sara Zalukar/Nishitha Saravanan (MIAMI) def. Fernanda Naves/Christy Robinson (NIU) 6-2
 
— NIU –