Bradley tennis served up the start of their fall season this past weekend at the Cougar Invitational against the Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars and the Eastern Illinois Panthers.
In doubles action on Friday, the Braves went 2-1 with help from juniors Maria Bezmenova, Juliana Martinez and freshman Anna Belogliadova, all recording at least one win in a match.
Bezmenova and Belogliadova won 6-1 over an Eastern Illinois duo as well as another win over the Panthers. Martinez and junior Alexandra Hildreth won their match 6-2.
“Our doubles on the first day [were] good,” head coach Matt Tyler said. “We got two out of three of those doubles matches, so that was a solid performance.”
When it came to the singles matches, Belogliadova, Bezmenova and Martinez shined bright with each of them going 1-1 on the first day. Belogliadova nearly went 2-0 after a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Elizaveta Bukraba-Ulanova, her Eastern Illinois foe, before falling 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a decision defeat to SIUE’s Jill Lambrechts.
“Belogliadova had a couple of great matches,” Tyler said. “She played the number one or number two from SIUE, who’s been there for four years, and had a great match with her that could’ve gone either way, so that was definitely a standout performance.”
On the second day, Martinez handled her singles match with ease, winning 6-0, 6-3 against her Eastern Illinois opponent, wrapping up her weekend with a 2-0 record. Bradley was also able to cruise to a 6-1 doubles win behind Bezmenova and Belogliadova, who repeated their success from the day prior.
Martinez, having had injury issues in previous years, was able to stay healthy and perform at a high level this past weekend.
“Being a junior having a little more experience than some of the other girls, I think that helps her a lot, and she’s playing well,” Tyler said. “Historically, she’s had some injury situations, and I know she’s feeling better and so that certainly helps her cause, too. I feel like she’s healthy and able to compete at her expected level.”
After a week in pleasant weather, heading down to the Cougar Invitational took the team into a much hotter and more humid climate in Edwardsville, Illinois. With the home advantage, SIUE was able to perform well, and the temperatures may have contributed to the difficult conditions the team played in.
“It was tough circumstances,” Tyler said. “[It was] super hot and we had to play on Friday [for] two singles matches and a doubles match, so we were out there for about 10 hours, so it was certainly taxing. It was a really long day, and that took a toll on everybody – not just our team, but the opposing teams as well.”
The Braves will assess and work some more before their next match in Normal at the Redbird Invite. The Invite will begin Sep. 30 and run through Oct. 2.
“We didn’t necessarily have the results that I would’ve liked to have seen from a win-loss perspective,” Tyler said. “But overall the new players did great, and I’m looking forward to getting back to work this week.”
