The Bradley tennis team closed the regular season by beating Valparaiso University during senior day on April 16 at Parkside Fitness. The win sent seniors Nina Marjanovic, Bozana Lojpur and Nikki Perlwitz, who were honored with a pre-match ceremony, off with the Braves’ ninth victory of the season.
Bradley started off hot, clinching victories in the first two Doubles matches. The duo of Lojpur and Perlwitz got things started for the Braves with a 6-2 victory at No. 2 Doubles, while Maria Bezmenova and Marjanovic followed with a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 spot.
Lojpur and Perlwitz as a team are now tied for second place for the most program wins by a pair with 42 career Doubles wins, only one win away from record-holders Sandra Maletin and Natalia Barbery. Lojpur shared her desire to tie the school’s record.
“It is definitely motivational,” Lojpur said. “I really hope we can get that win this weekend; that is the one thing that I’m looking forward to the most. I’ve never had that good of chemistry with a Doubles partner before than I do with Nikki, so being able to have so much fun and have such good chemistry on the court but also be successful is something I’m beyond thankful for.”
In the Singles competition, Bezmenova led the way with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory at the No. 4 spot to put Bradley ahead 2-1.
Kirstin Hailey won at No. 2 Singles after a seesaw battle in the first set against Claire Czerwonka. Hailey took a 7-6 (6), 6-2 win to extend Bradley’s lead to 3-1.
Madalena Andrade came back after dropping the first set to secure the personal victory, and clinched the match for the Braves, at No. 3 Singles, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
Nikki Perlwitz added Bradley’s fifth point of the day winning 6-1, 7-5 at No. 6 Singles.
Head coach Matt Tyler was delighted to pick up one last regular season victory against tough competition. The win was key to Bradley clinching the third seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship tournament.
“I was very happy with the way that we played; that was a big match going in,” Tyler said. “We wanted to be the No. 3 seed going into the tournament, there was a lot of pressure there; Valparaiso has been playing very well.”
With the regular season ending, three Braves were recognized with MVC accolades. Perlwitz was announced as an All-MVC selection for the second year in a row, being the only player on flight No. 6 to have an undefeated record this season.
Tyler shared his thoughts about Perlwitz’s career and winning the award in back-to-back years.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what Nikki has accomplished in her career,” Tyler said. “She has just been a solid player for us year in and year out. She is a terrific leader for us, somebody that the coaching staff relies on from a leadership perspective and has just been a joy to coach for the last four years. [I] couldn’t be happier for her and more proud of her and what she has been able to do in her time here at Bradley, she is very deserving.”
Lojpur was recognized as MVC All-Select for the second consecutive year. Tyler emphasized what the senior has meant to the program and how she has adapted to the circumstances and performed at the No.1 Singles spot.
“Obviously from a win-loss perspective, she has done a tremendous amount for the program, and stepping into that number one position is no small fit, I think she has handled that situation remarkably well,” Tyler said. ”She has been a great kid to have on the team and somebody that we have relied on to consistently win for us, and be a great Doubles player. ”
The third player to earn MVC accolades was Kirstin Hailey. The freshman was recognized as MVC All-Select, thanks to her .500 singles winning percentage which was the highest of any freshman student-athlete playing higher than No. 3 Doubles and No. 4 Singles.
“It’s always great when you have a freshman that is as talented as Kirstin is and somebody that you know that for the next three years is not only [going to] get better but just be a great person to be around,” Tyler said. “I can’t wait to see what she does in the future. I think her game is just going to improve and I think she is going to have an outstanding career. To get All-Select as a freshman is really pretty remarkable.”
Tyler shared his thoughts about Marjanovic’s career at Bradley since she transferred from St. John’s University in 2018.
“Nina is a great kid, [I] have really enjoyed her being a part of the team,” Tyler said. “I couldn’t be more proud of what Nina has managed to get done for us this season too. She and Maria [Bezmenova] together in Doubles have had a great career too.”
The Braves will open the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Tennis Championship as the number-three seed today at 3 p.m. against the sixth seed UNI. The winner of the match will face the winner of second-seeded ISU and seventh-seeded Missouri State in the semifinals tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Bradley was able to beat UNI earlier this season 5-2, winning all three Doubles matches, Tyler believes the Doubles point will be key for the team to advance to the next round.
“Getting that win in the regular season gives you a lot of confidence going into that match, which I think it’s important, but we certainly can’t look past them because we did have some tough matches,” Tyler said. “But again, it’s certainly a match that we’re going to have to take seriously and make sure that we are competing at the top levels of our game.”
