DePaul University Athletics
Katarina Milinkovic Clinches Win for the Blue Demons
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. After falling behind early, the No. 57 DePaul women’s tennis squad fought back to take a 4-3 decision from No. 30-ranked Indiana. The Blue Demons improve their record to 8-2, while the Hoosiers fall to 7-2.
DePaul fell to an early 0-1 deficit after dropping two of the three doubles matches. Anna Redecsi and Selma Salkovic earned the only Blue Demon triumph after defeating Katya Kapadalva and Alba Berdala, 8-5. The duo boast a team-high record of 10-1.
No. 109 Dunja Antunovic evened the score after her No. 1 singles win over Katya Zapadolva, 6-4, 6-3. The Hoosiers, however, pulled ahead once again with a win in the No. 3 singles slot.
Freshman Gia McKnight, who has remained consistent all season with a team-high 19 singles-wins, registered a straight-set victory over Lindsey Stuckey, 7-6, 6-2, to knot the team-score back up at two.
The Blue Demons pulled ahead for the first time with Redecsi’s No. 2 singles triumph. After splitting the first two sets, 6-2, 3-6, she disposed of Charlotte Martin in the third set, 6-2.
With DePaul up 3-2, only one more point was needed to clinch the team win. Katarina Milinkovic won her first set, 6-4, but dropped the second by a narrow 7-5 margin. Meanwhile, in the No. 4 singles match, Salkovic had also traded sets with Sigrid Fischer, 7-6, 4-6. With the match on the line, Milinkovic pulled through in the third set, beating Megan Matter and clinching the team win.
“It was a great comeback by the girls after losing the doubles point,” said Coach Mark Ardizzone, “I’m extremely proud of their efforts today.”
The Blue Demons now improve to 3-2 when facing ranked opponents.
The team hits the road again next weekend for road matches at No. 58 Iowa and No. 75 Kansas (at Iowa). The first match against the Hawkeyes is scheduled for Friday, February 20 at 3 p.m. (CST), followed by a 10 a.m. Saturday morning dual against the Jayhawks.
DePaul 4, Indiana - 3
Doubles:
No. 1 Anna Redecsi/Selma Salkovic def. Katya Zapadalva/Alba Berdala, 8-5
No. 2 Myriam Sopel/Sigrid Fischer (IND) def. #36 Dunja Antunovic/Kirsten Gambrell (DPU), 8-5
No. 3 Megan Matter/Lindsey Stuckey (IND) def. Gia McKnight/Sandra Zmak (DPU), 8-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles:
No. 1 #109 Dunja Antunovic (DPU) def. Katya Zapadolva (IND), 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Anna Redecsi (DPU) def. Charlotte Martin (IND), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
No. 3 Alba Berdala (IND) def. Sandra Zmak (DPU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Sigid Fischer (IND) def. Selma Salkovic (DPU), 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 Gia McKnight (DPU) def. Lindsey Stuckey (IND), 7-6, 6-2
No. 6 Katarina Milinkovic (DPU) def. Megan Matter (IND), 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 5, 2, 6*, 4
*Clinching Match
By the numbers: The Blue Demons have opened their dual season with a combined singles record of 47-10 and a combined doubles record of 22-7... Gia McKnight leads the Blue Demons with 20 singles match wins... with the win over Indiana, Coach Mark Ardizzone’s career record now stands a 214-120... on February 10, 2009 the ITA award the team with their highest rank of the season: No. 57... six student-athletes have reached the double-digit singles-win total so far this season... Selma Salkovic leads the team with 21 doubles victories which have been earned with five different teammates.
