UNI tennis' Darta Dalecka earns Panthers' first MVC weekly honors

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - UNI tennis' Darta Dalecka is on a four-match win streak that earned her Player of the Week honors from the Missouri Valley Conference.

Dalecka is a freshman from Jaunmarupe, Latvia. She has stepped in to take the spot at No. 1 in singles and for the double teams at UNI.

Dalecka earned the weekly honors after defeating Erika Dimitriev of Northern Illinois in 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker), 7-6 (7-5 tiebreaker), and she defeated Sabrina Tang of Grinnell College in two straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. The latest victories come on the heels of wins against Jannah El Nemr of St. Thomas (3-6, 6-4, 6-4) and Jordan Schifano of Southern Illinois -Edwardsville (2-6, 6-4, 6-2). She is 4-1 so far in the season.

Dalecka has combined with Lorena Cardoso to win the duo's last three matchups.

Darta Dalecka/Lorena Cardoso (UNI) def. Irene Agusti/Sabrina Tang (GCW) 6-0
Darta Dalecka/Lorena Cardoso (UNI) def. Erika Dimitriev/Anastasia Rakita (NIU) 6-4
Darta Dalecka/Lorena Cardoso (UNI) def. Abigail Bremel/Regina Talavera (UST) 6-2

DOUBLES PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Bozana Lojpur, Senior, Burnaby, Canada/Burnaby Mountain Secondary School
Nikki Perlwitz, Senior, Weston, FL/Cypress Bay High School
Bradley's No. 3 tandem - the only doubles pair in The Valley to win two matches against D1 competition last weekend and the only doubles team to win against a ranked team - increased their career-long winning streak to six matches. The win against #75 SIUE gave BU the lead in the doubles point, and tied things up against Kansas City. The SIUE tandem of Caitlyn Sporing/Melissa Vizcardo was undefeated at 8-0 until they ran into Lojpur/Perlwitz. The Bradley pair is already one of the most dependable doubles tandems in program history; with both wins on the weekend, they are up to 36 as a pair. That ranks fourth in BU history for doubles wins by a pair. They are seven wins shy of tying the program record of 43, held by former teammates Natalia Barbery/Sandra Maletin.

UP NEXT

The Panthers travel to Des Moines March 4 to have their first Missouri Valley Conference encounter against last year's champion, Drake University. UNI will return home 11 a.m. March 6 to host the Milwaukee Panthers.

OTHERS CONSIDERED

OTHERS CONSIDERED
Nina Marjanovic, Bradley -- Breezed through the competition this weekend with two straight set victories against #75 SIUE and UMKC, both at No. 5 Singles. The Cougars, off to a program record 9-0 start this season, had Amber Hochstatter playing against Marjanovic. Hochstatter was 7-3 going into the contest. Against UMKC, Marjanovic faced Ana Timofeyva, who in her one match against Valley competition this season, proved to be the clinching victory on the road against Missouri State. Marjanovic is now on a career-long four match singles winning streak, splitting between the Nos. 4 and 5 spots. She was one of only two players in The Valley to win two matches against D1 competition on the weekend and the only student-athlete to win a singles match against a ranked team.

Alexandra Abyasova, Illinois State -- Continues to play well for the Redbirds in her first season at ISU. In Friday's win at home against Eastern Illinois, Abyasova picked up a 7-5, 6-1 win at the No. 2 spot for the Redbirds and her Sunday match at Purdue was left unfinished. Abyasova also picked up a doubles win with partner Laura Fitzgerald against the Panthers as the duo improved to 14-2 on the season.

Darinka Stepan, Drake -- Won her match 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 against NIU's Anastasia Rakita; she came back from a one and two point deficit in sets one and two

Alexandra Abyasova/Laura Fitzgerald, Illinois State (doubles) -- The No. 2/3 doubles team of Alexandra Abyasova and Laura Fitzgerald picked up a key win in Saturday's match against Eastern Illinois. Playing at the No. 3 spot, they rolled to 6-1 win to help the Redbirds secure the doubles point and eventually the 6-1 team win. Their match on Sunday was halted at 5-5, as action moved to singles play. Overall, the duo is now a combined 14-2 as a tandem this spring playing mostly at the No. 3 spot.

Liza Petushkova/Daria Walczak, Drake (doubles) -- Defeated their opponent 6-3; winning five-straight points before NIU managed to score their second

Darta Dalecka/Lorena Cardoso, UNI (doubles)-- Darta Dalecka/Lorena Cardoso (UNI) def. Erika Dimitriev/Anastasia Rakita (NIU) and def. Irene Agusti/Sabrina Tang (GCW) 6-0

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