WINONA, MN – Seniors Eileen Leong and Cristina Bremar captured a pair of marathon matches to lead the University of Mary tennis team to a win in the regular season finale and a spot in the Northern Sun tournament. Facing a shorthanded Upper Iowa squad, the Marauders defeated the Peacocks 6-3.
 
With the Peacocks winning the top two singles and the #1 doubles matches, the Marauders showed their strength in the lower pairings and took advantage of a pair of forfeits to claim the win over Upper Iowa.
 
Following the first loss of the season by the Leong/Tasha Dembo doubles pairing, the Marauders knotted the match 1-1 following an 8-3 win at #2 doubles by Lucia Bolibruch and Kelsey Lajom. UMary gained a win by forfeit at #3 doubles to forge ahead 2-1.
 
Dembo suffered a tough loss at #1 singles in a 10-8 loss in the super-tiebreaker and Bolibruch came up short at #2 singles to give the Peacocks a glimmer of optimism before the Marauders shut the door on Upper Iowa's hope for a win by capturing the other four singles matches.
 
Kelsey Lajom rolled to the win at #3 singles, refusing to let up in a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Lara Peco. The next two Marauders wins were not so easy.
 
Down a set to Lavanya Singh, Leong rebounded to dominate the second stanza and the super tiebreaker to earn a 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 victory at #4 singles.
 
Bremar jumped out for a comfortable win in the first set before being edged in the second. Finding her stroke, she also dominated the tiebreaker to win 6-2, 5-7, 10-2.
 
The Marauders improve to 6-9 overall and 4-7 in the NSIC at the close of the regular season. After missing the conference tournament last year, UMary guaranteed itself a top-eight finish and will make a return to postseason action. The Northern Sun tournament is set to begin April 20 in Minneapolis, MN. Upper Iowa is 1-12 (1-10 NSIC).
 
University of Mary vs Upper Iowa
4/8/2018 at Winona, MN
University of Mary 6, Upper Iowa 3
 
Singles competition
1. Zhanatova,Shakhnaza (UIU) def. Dembo, Tasha (MARY) 6-7, 6-3, 10-8
2. Okolot, Anna (UIU) def. Bolibruch, Lucia (MARY) 6-0, 6-3
3. Lajom, Kelsey (MARY) def. Peco, Lara (UIU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Leong, Eileen (MARY) def. Singh, Lavanya (UIU) 4-6, 6-1, 10-3
5. Bremar, Cristina (MARY) def. Heichert, Breanna (UIU) 6-2, 5-7, 10-2
6. Wolf, Danielle (MARY) def. No player (UIU), by forfeit
 
Doubles competition
1. Okolot, Anna/Zhanatova,Shakhnaza (UIU) def. Leong, Eileen/Dembo, Tasha (MARY) 8-6
2. Bolibruch, Lucia/Lajom, Kelsey (MARY) def. Peco, Lara/Singh, Lavanya (UIU) 8-3
3. Anderson, Lisa/Bichler, Emily (MARY) def. No player/No player (UIU), by forfeit
 
Match Notes:
University of Mary 6-9 (4-7 NSIC)
Upper Iowa 1-12 (1-10 NSIC)
 
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