Women's Tennis Wins Third in a Row

CHICAGO — It was the tale of two matches on Sunday afternoon as DePaul women's tennis cruised to a 4-0 win over Northern Illinois before battling back to take down Chicago State 4-3 to win its third match in a row. All said and done, the Blue Demons moved to 3-0 at home inside XS Tennis Village and have won five of their last six matches.

Hannah Smith and Eleanor Nobbs went 2-0 on the afternoon in singles action, while Smith alongside senior Greta Carbone were unbeaten in doubles action.

DePaul (5-4) started the day in impressive fashion, handing Northern Illinois just their second doubles defeat of the dual season as Carbone and Smith dominated at No. 1 singles, 6-1. Eva Goncharov and Eleanor Nobbs clinched the doubles point for the Blue Demons with a 6-4 victory on court three. The duo picked up their third dual win of the spring campaign.

The Blue Demons carried the momentum into singles play with five courts winning the first set. Junior Eva Goncharov cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court six to double DePaul's advantage. Goncharov is now 3-0 this season.

Eleanor Nobbs dominated from start to finish at No. 3 singles, taking down Nataly Ninova, 6-1, 6-2 while Hannah Smith clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-3 decision at No. 1. Smith is now 3-1 on court one.

In the second match of the day, the Cougars came out swinging, winning the first doubles match of the day, 6-0 at No. 2. The duo of Carbone and Smith evened things on court one with a 6-2 win. Chicago State went on to clinch the doubles point in a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreak at No. 3 to claim the early 1-0 edge.

Casati started singles off strong for the Blue Demons with a straight-set win over the Cougars' Ethel Li, 6-3, 6-2 to event the score at 1-1.

Smith continued her hot streak at No. 1 singles with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 win to improve to 4-1 at the top spot and put DePaul in front 3-2.

The Cougars took courts three and six in straight sets to take a 3-2 advantage before Kizelbasheva rallied from down 1-4 in the first set to win 6-4, 6-3 and knot the match at three apiece.

Nobbs proved to be the hero of the evening, bouncing back from a tough second set to dominate in the decisive third and take the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 and give the Blue Demons their second win of the day and third in a row.

Match Score
DePaul 4, Northern Illinois 0

Doubles:

Greta Carbone/Hannah Smith (DPU) def. Erika Dimitriev/Nataly Ninova, 6-1
Emily Casati/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU) vs. Diana Lukyanova/Isabella Righi, 5-5 unfinished
Eva Goncharov/Eleanor Nobbs (DPU) def. Jenna Horne/Reagan Welch (NIU), 6-4

Singles:

Hannah Smith (DPU) def. Erika Dimitriev (NIU), 6-3, 6-3
Sasha Stula (DPU) vs. Diana Lukyanova (NIU), 6-7, unfinished
Eleanor Nobbs (DPU) def. Nataly Ninova (NIU), 6-1, 6-2
Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU) vs. Isabella Righi (NIU), 6-1, 5-6, unfinished
Emily Casati (DPU) vs. Reagan Welch (NIU), 6-1, 3-5, unfinished
Eva Goncharov (DPU) def. Jenna Horne (NIU), 6-1, 6-3

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Singles – 6, 3, 1, Doubles – 1, 3
Duration: 2:10
DePaul 4-4
NIU 3-4

Match Score
DePaul 4, Chicago State 3

Doubles:

Greta Carbone/Hannah Smith (DPU) def. Nia Cooper/Manuella Eloundou, 6-2
Ethel Li/Sofiya Sedovich (CSU) def. Emily Casati/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU), 6-0
Katarina Dukic/Amina Taibi (CSU) def. Eva Goncharov/Eleanor Nobbs (DPU), 7-6 (7-5)

Singles:

Hannah Smith (DPU) def. Sofiya Sedovich (CSU, 6-2, 6-2
Eleanor Nobbs (DPU def. Katarina Dukic (CSU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Manuella Eloundou (CSU) def. Sasha Stula (DPU), 6-3, 6-2
Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DPU) def. Amina Taibi (CSU), 6-4, 6-3
Emily Casati (DPU) def. Ethel Li (CSU), 6-3, 6-2
Nia Cooper (CSU) def. Eva Goncharov (DPU), 6-2, 6-4

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Singles – 5, 1, 3, 6, 4, 2; Doubles – 2, 1, 3
Duration: 3:35
DePaul 5-4
CSU 2-8

UP NEXT
DePaul will make the short trip to Notre Dame on Friday, Feb. 16. First serve in South Bend is set for 2:30 p.m. CST.

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Players Mentioned

Greta Carbone

Emily Casati

Eva Goncharov

Yuliya Kizelbasheva

Eleanor Nobbs

Hannah Smith

Sasha Stula