The Bradley tennis team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Regional Championships this weekend to end their fall season. The Braves had no players end past the Sweet 16 in the 72-player tournament in Stillwater, Okla.
Freshman Mariia Pukhina was the 31st seed and won her first match. She lasted the longest of any Brave, making it to the round of 16 before elimination.
Junior Madalena Andrade beat the sixth-seeded Ksenia Shikanova in the first set and the second set. The first game had a 6-3 win, a 6-2 loss and a 10-7 tiebreaking win. In her second match, she won set one 6-3, lost set two 6-2, and won again in a 10-7 final set.
Junior Maria Bezmenova did not get her revenge on Drake’s Rebecca Ehn from the MVC championship, getting swept 6-0 in both sets.
Sophomore Kirsten Hailey ranked 27th and won her first matchup with ease. She fought hard in the second round, but lost to the third-seeded Jordan Schifano. She won the first match 6-2 twice in a row; however, entering her second match, she lost 6-4 and 7-5.
Junior Alexandra Hildreth fell short in her first set against Zeyneb Sarioglan from Minnesota. Her first set was a 6-0 loss followed by a 6-2 defeat.
Freshman Madi Rogers lost in the first round against Jule Schulte from the University of North Dakota. Her first set was a 6-3 loss followed by a 6-0 defeat.
Both Pukhina and Andrade won their round one matches in the tiebreaker, proving that they were fighting until the last point was scored, and both of them ended up scoring that final point.
The team will be back in action Jan. 28 in Pekin against Chicago State.
