ERIC THIELE ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Wartburg women’s tennis team hosted Div. II Upper Iowa and defeated the Peacocks 6-3.
In singles matches, the Knights took five out of the six matches. The Knights were led by number singles player Molly Eslick. Eslick topped her opponent 6-3 and 6-2.
Jenny Dallenbach also came away with an impressive victory in singles play as she defeated her Upper Iowa opponent in three sets at scores of 7-6, 6-3 and 10-3.
Also winning in singles play was Emily Heying, Lindsay Greiner and Leanna Jenkins.
“Molly beat the Div. II regional champion. Jenny and Leanna clinched the match for us and won in tiebreakers to [take] the match. It made all the difference in the world to get the tiebreakers,” said head coach Matthew Tyler.
In doubles play, Heying and Greiner took home a victory for the Knights as they won 8-3, giving the Knights their only doubles victory of the dual.
“The team performed really well. This was the first time this season where we were down after the doubles match, 1-2, and were able to come back in the singles matches,” Tyler said.
The Knights traveled to Minneapolis to compete in the ITA Midwest Regional on Friday and Saturday.
In singles play, Heying fell in three sets to her opponent from Gustavus Adolphus and Leanna Nelson fell in two sets.
Only Eslick won her first round match, which she did in straight sets 6-3 (twice).
Eslick had continued success as she defeated her opponent from Gustavus Adolphus in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-4.
With this win, Eslick moved on to defeat her opponent from University of Wisconsin-Stout in straight sets once again, 6-1 and 6-1.
“She’s a great kid and one of the toughest competitors I have ever been around, but that is the case with all the girls,” said Tyler.
However, when Eslick reached the quarerfinals, her win streak ended as Sierra Krebsbach from Gustavus Adolphus defeated her 6-2 and 7-5.
“We need to stay aggressive in the doubles as opposed to waiting for our opponents to make a mistake,” Tyler said.
The Knights look to continue their successful season as they face Loras and Dubuque on Saturday at 9 a.m.
“I really want to come out strong against Loras and Dubuque. I think those would be some good matches for us to win going into the conference tournament,” said Tyler.