MIDLAND, Mich - For the third time this season, the Hounds are celebrating another tournament victory, this time in the NCAA DII Midwest Regional. The No. 1 team in the country would leave the regional untouched with two 4-0 wins to capture the crown. The second of which was against a familiar foe in the 12th-ranked Southwest Baptist Bearcats. This is the third time this year the Hounds met the Bearcats in a tournament final, the
ITA DII Team Indoor and the
GLVC Championships, and it is the third time the Hounds would win 4-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The day started off with a top-25 matchup in doubles, with the No. 1 pairing in the country, UIndy's
Nikol Alekseeva and
Anna Novikova, facing off with the No. 20 tandem, Dona Abohabaga and Constanca Crespo of SBU. The upset did not come to fruition with Alekseeva and Novikova holding onto their undefeated doubles record with a 6-2 win. The Hounds second doubles pairing and also No. 3 in the nation,
Alina Kislitskaya and
Kristina Lagoda, wrapped up doubles with a 6-4 win.
Maria Solnyshkina and
Sofia Sharonova did not finish their match.
Straight-set wins in singles continued to be the theme of the Midwest Regional for the Hounds as they would win all three points without being forced past two sets. No. 14 Kislitskaya came out ferocious with a 6-2, 6-4 win to crack open singles play. Next was Novikova, the No. 8 singles player, who won convincingly, 6-2, 6-3. And to clinch the match for the Hounds, the senior from Moscow, Russia, Lagoda, sealed the deal with two 6-2 sets to send the Hounds to the NCAA DII Championships.
Alekseeva, Solnyshkina and Sharonova did not finish their singles matches.
HOUND BYTES
Head Coach Malik Tabet on the teams performance in the SBU match...
"Today the girls came in on a mission. It was pretty tight in the beginning. We started off really well and then slowed down and unfortunately let SBU back into the match for a minute, but we did a really good job of tightening up the screws again and finishing strong. I was very happy to see we had a good character and came in strong."
"I'm very happy for Kristina (Lagoda). She really wanted to clinch the match for us. She's a great team player, and sure enough she was able to finish her match in a really strong fashion. So I'm excited for the girls; I'm excited to go to the National Championship, it's well deserved. They've done so well all year long and played disciplined tennis all year long. They've played as a team and it's awesome, so now we just have to keep rolling."
UP NEXT
It is the final road trip for the Hounds as they will fly all the way to sunny Surprise, Ariz., for the NCAA DII Championship on May 19-21.
