Women’s tennis sweeps in singles

Women’s tennis player Kathryn Sharples won her singles and doubles matches Saturday. Photo: Steve Woltmann

The women’s tennis team (1-1) came away with its first win of the season Sunday against University of Chicago at Match Point Tennis.

The Flames swept singles in straight-set matches and captured the doubles point to shut out the Maroons, 7-0.

“We still have some work to do in doubles,” head coach Shannon Tully said.

“We need to find combinations that work and we need to be more aggressive.  The team got the job done in singles, and I was pleased with how they played.”

Haley Craig and Kathryn Sharples blanked Linden Li and Stephanie Lee at No. 1 doubles, 8-0, for the first win. Natalia Kuvakina and Ann-Sophie Hahn combined at No. 3 to top Sruthi Ramaswami and Maggie Schumann, 8-2.

Mariana Palacios and Jana Knoppe’s match at No. 2 went unfinished.

UIC dominated in singles, preventing the opposition from scoring no more than three points in each set.

Kuvakina competed at No. 1 to take down Li, 6-2, 6-0. Palacios came out over Kelsey McGillis at No. 2 in a 6-1, 6-3 final. Sharples bested Helen Sdvizkhov, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3.

Knoppe was positioned at No. 4 against Ramaswami, were she captured a 6-3, 6-2 win. Keti Mebuke stifled Schumann at No. 5 with a 6-0, 6-0 defeat.

Hahn rounded out singles at No. 6 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lee.

North Dakota and South Dakota are next up for the Flames, with matches in Des Moines, Iowa at 9 a.m. Saturday and 9:30 a.m. Sunday, respectively.