DePaul University Athletics
Monday, April 26
Cayce, S.C.
8:00 A.M. CT
DePaul University
4
vs
1
Xavier
DePaul Falls Short in Bid for Repeat BIG EAST Title
4/26/2021 12:42:00 PM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
No. 2 seed Blue Demons drop 4-1 decision to No. 1 Xavier on Monday
CAYCE, S.C. – Defending champion and No. 2 seed DePaul's bid for a repeat BIG EAST title fell short Monday at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
No. 1 seed Xavier prevailed 4-1 but had to fight off a Blue Demon surge late in this classic showdown.
Xavier (17-3) had taken a 3-0 lead only to see Marija Jovicic start a rally for DePaul (11-5) with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kaitlyn Ruether at No. 5 singles.
Slowly but surely, a path developed for coach Marisa Arce's gutsy team to stage an epic comeback. Both Aspasia Avgeri at No. 1 and Maddie Yergler at No. 6 were poised to win their three-set matches.
Alina Kuzmenkova had a long and exhausting battle at No. 2 singles with Kat Lyman, losing the first set 7-6 and rebounding with a 6-3 decision. That first set included a mesmerizing 63-shot tiebreaking rally.
But Kuzmenkova could not sustain her momentum from the second-set success and fell 6-2 in the third set.
Avgeri had a 5-2 lead in her third set against Ahmeir Kyle while Yergler was ahead 4-2 in the third set of her matchup versus Emily Thomas.
Xavier had started out strong by winning the doubles point and claiming singles victories at No. 3 and No. 4. The Musketeers earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Demons finished up a 2020-21 season that began with Arce's team winning seven of its first eight matches including five in a row.
Another memorable highlight this spring was Avgeri winning an impressive 10 consecutive singles matches and finishing with a team-best 11-3 singles record. The graduate student from Athens, Greece teamed with Yergler to finish 11-4 in doubles.
Jovicic wound up going 10-4 and won her final five matches of the season. She also went 4-0 at the BIG EAST Championship winning all three of her singles matches and one doubles match with the other two unfinished.
Xavier 4, DePaul 1
April 26, 2021
Cayce, S.C.
Singles
1. Avgeri (DPU) leading Kyle (XU) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 5-2, unfinished
2. Lyman (XU) def. Kuzmenkova (DPU) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2
3. Roggenburk (XU) def. Antonijevic (DPU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Graham (XU) def. Kizelbasheva (DPU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Jovicic (DPU) def. Ruether (XU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Yergler (DPU) leading Thomas (XU) 3-6, 7-6 (1), 4-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. Kyle, Ahmeir/Thomas, Emily (XU) def. Lenka Antonijevic/Alina Kuzmenkova (DPU) 6-2
2. Roggenburk, Anna/Graham, Imani (XU) vs. Marija Jovicic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU) 5-2, unfinished
3. Lyman, Kat/Ruether, Kaitlin (XU) def. Aspasia Avgeri/Maddie Yergler (DPU) 6-2
No. 1 seed Xavier prevailed 4-1 but had to fight off a Blue Demon surge late in this classic showdown.
Xavier (17-3) had taken a 3-0 lead only to see Marija Jovicic start a rally for DePaul (11-5) with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Kaitlyn Ruether at No. 5 singles.
Slowly but surely, a path developed for coach Marisa Arce's gutsy team to stage an epic comeback. Both Aspasia Avgeri at No. 1 and Maddie Yergler at No. 6 were poised to win their three-set matches.
Alina Kuzmenkova had a long and exhausting battle at No. 2 singles with Kat Lyman, losing the first set 7-6 and rebounding with a 6-3 decision. That first set included a mesmerizing 63-shot tiebreaking rally.
But Kuzmenkova could not sustain her momentum from the second-set success and fell 6-2 in the third set.
Avgeri had a 5-2 lead in her third set against Ahmeir Kyle while Yergler was ahead 4-2 in the third set of her matchup versus Emily Thomas.
Xavier had started out strong by winning the doubles point and claiming singles victories at No. 3 and No. 4. The Musketeers earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Blue Demons finished up a 2020-21 season that began with Arce's team winning seven of its first eight matches including five in a row.
Another memorable highlight this spring was Avgeri winning an impressive 10 consecutive singles matches and finishing with a team-best 11-3 singles record. The graduate student from Athens, Greece teamed with Yergler to finish 11-4 in doubles.
Jovicic wound up going 10-4 and won her final five matches of the season. She also went 4-0 at the BIG EAST Championship winning all three of her singles matches and one doubles match with the other two unfinished.
Xavier 4, DePaul 1
April 26, 2021
Cayce, S.C.
Singles
1. Avgeri (DPU) leading Kyle (XU) 7-5, 6-7 (5), 5-2, unfinished
2. Lyman (XU) def. Kuzmenkova (DPU) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-2
3. Roggenburk (XU) def. Antonijevic (DPU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Graham (XU) def. Kizelbasheva (DPU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Jovicic (DPU) def. Ruether (XU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Yergler (DPU) leading Thomas (XU) 3-6, 7-6 (1), 4-2, unfinished
Doubles
1. Kyle, Ahmeir/Thomas, Emily (XU) def. Lenka Antonijevic/Alina Kuzmenkova (DPU) 6-2
2. Roggenburk, Anna/Graham, Imani (XU) vs. Marija Jovicic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU) 5-2, unfinished
3. Lyman, Kat/Ruether, Kaitlin (XU) def. Aspasia Avgeri/Maddie Yergler (DPU) 6-2
Players Mentioned
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
/ WOMEN'S TENNIS
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