The women’s tennis team had a stellar weekend at home, going undefeated and opening conference play with a 2-0 record. On Friday, Marquette downed Illinois-Chicago, 6-1, and swept Villanova, 7-0. On Sunday, the women came back for more against Louisville but pulled away early with a 5-2 victory.
Friday’s match against Illinois-Chicago earned coach Jody Bronson her 300th career win, making her one of just 18 active NCAA Division I women’s tennis coaches to hold the honor. She is also the only coach in any sport at Marquette to have 300 wins.
The Golden Eagles downed the Flames, 6-1, a strong season opener against a team they had trouble with last year.
“We had a very tough opening match with them last year,” Bronson said on Wednesday. “We beat them 4-3, and they’re better than they were last year.”
Bronson said opening the season with a victory over the Flames made a great statement on the Golden Eagles readiness to compete this season.
On top of victory number 300, going on to win two consecutive conference matches made for an even better weekend, Bronson said.
Freshman Kelly Barry quickly took second singles, 6-1, 6-1, against Illinois-Chicago’s Ilinca Cristescu, again showing that adjusting to college play wasn’t difficult.
“You come on the court, and everyone is a good player. There are no easy rounds,” Barry said. “You have to be ready for every match.”
She followed up against Villanova, taking another quick victory over senior Courtney Reed, 6-0, 6-0.
Barry’s singles win was followed up with Marquette victories at every other position. Christina Ruiz and Olga Fischer also defeated their opponents in two sets, 6-0, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-4, respectively.
Bronson noted that Ruiz, Fischer and Gillian Hush went undefeated throughout the weekend.
Ruiz said she had to stay focused on being aggressive, especially when playing Louisville. She won the fourth singles point and secured Marquette’s victory after a difficult match, 6-4, 6-2.
“They were extremely tough,” she said of the Cardinals. “No matter if we were up the whole set, they were still fighting the whole time.
But the Golden Eagles were still able to come out on top.
“We all just went in really confident,” Ruiz said. “I think this puts us in a really good place. It gives us a lot of confidence for (this weekend’s match against) Indiana.”
Fischer’s victories were important, Bronson said, because she had to play at No. 1 for two of those matches.
Fischer defeated Illinois-Chicago’s Mariya Kovaleva, 6-2, 6-4, and Villanova’s Carla Erskine, 6-1, 6-2, on Friday, both at No. 1. She then followed up with a No. 2 win against Louisville’s Amerlia Harris, 6-3, 6-2.
“There was a lot more pressure, because it meant so much to be 2-0 in conference,” Bronson said. “Competition really brings it out in (Fischer). She is her best when she is competing.”
