Bradley tennis freshman Mariia Pukhina took second in her solo bout and the Braves’ highest flight of doubles took third at the MVC Individual Championship from Oct. 7-9.
After a fourth-place finish at the Redbird Invitational, Pukhina made it all the way to the championship of the Flight two singles after 6-4, 6-2 victories over Murray State and Northern Iowa. Despite an eventual loss to Valparaiso’s Moira Silva in straight sets, her second-place finish was the highest of any Brave in the tournament.
The duo of junior Madalena Andrade and sophomore Kirstin Hailey got their revenge from the weekend prior in Normal, taking down the Illinois State tandem of Tijana Zlatanovic and Tara Damnjanovic in the first round 8-5. After dropping their semifinal match to Drake, Andrade and Hailey were able to avenge Pukhina’s loss with an 8-4 win over Valpo to capture third place.
It is both girls’ second time taking home third at the MVC Individual Championship, although it is their first as partners. Hailey previously claimed it with former tennis standout Sandra Maletin by default in last year’s No. 1 Flight, and Andrade teamed up with current junior Maria Bezmenova to take home hardware in the No. 2 spot.
Both players suited up for singles but ended up suffering the same fate. In Flight three, Hailey overcame an early loss to Missouri State’s Mary Houston and won her next match over Valpo’s Amanda Tabanera 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-6. The long sets proved costly for Hailey, as she had to withdraw from her consolation match due to injury, finishing sixth.
In Flight four, Andrade had two three-set matches, losing to Damnjanovic 2-6, 6-3, 5-7 and Belmont’s Viktoria Kliimand 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 3-10. Sandra Lukacova of Missouri State was forced to withdraw her match against Andrade, so the Alabama State transfer took home sixth, just like her doubles partner.
Bezmenova one-upped her teammates, taking home fifth in the Flight five singles. She lost her opening round matchup to Drake’s Rebecca Ehn, but came back and beat Valpo’s Mia Bertino 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 and Belmont’s Taylor Trondson 5-7, 6-3, 11-9 to take home the consolation prize.
The team wraps up the individual season with the ITA Central Region Championships.
