AURORA, Ill. -- The North Park Vikings women's tennis team traveled to the Vaughan Athletic Center in Aurora, Ill. to take on the Aurora Spartans on Friday, April 12.  The Vikings pulled out the 5-2 win over the Spartans.  

Story courtesy of head coach Karl Clifton Soderstrom

The Vikings had to take their fight indoors on Friday night to defeat the Spartans of Aurora University.  Things looked promising from the start of the doubles matches, with both #1 and #2 doubles taking an earlier lead.  In #1 doubles, Linn Viuhkonen and Lisa Viuhkonen dominated in the first three games, only to be answered by the Spartans to make it 3-2.  From there, the two teams traded service games until the Vikings pulled away at the end with some brilliant net play from Lisa Viuhkonen.  #2 doubles had an easier time topping their opponents.  The combination of Brahimi's strong service games and Harrisons powerful and consistent volleys were too much for the Spartans to handle.

The singles matchups had their highlights as well, with #1 singles player Linn Viuhkonen dominating in the first set to go up 6-0.  Though Salazar played a fast paced game, Linn was able to answer point after point to stay in control of the match. #2 singles Kenzie Harrison played the most competitive match of the day, going three sets against her opponent.  While Harrison threw a wide variety of shots and strategies at her opponent, showing a well developed game play, the quick and athletic player from Aurora chased everything down to outlast Harrison.  #3 and #4 singles match were solid matches for the Vikings. Things looked dicey for Lisa Viuhkonen in the fist set, getting down 2-5 before she gained back her confidence and went onto win an impressive 11 straight games.  #4 Brahimi overcame a recent wrist injury to play a very consistent and fast pace game.  Viking new comer Mallory Yanda at #5 singles had a tough match filled with long rallies a good variety of shots.  

Assistant Coach Monika Magusiak said, "One goal for any season is to finish strong by using all the skills you developed over the last few months.  Our team is looking much improved from the fall season, and today showcased that.  It was great to see.  We look forward to our final three matches, hoping to go undefeated in our final matchups."

Below are the results from Friday's match: 

NPU 5

Aurora 2

Doubles

1 Linn Viuhkonen/Lisa Viuhkonen def Giselle Salazar/Sami Hultine 8-5

2 Kenzie Harrison/Asmina Brahimi def Teryn Friffin/Alexis Marcy 8-2

#3 doubles - mutual default - no points

Singles

1 Linn Viuhkonen def Giselle Salazar. 6-0, 6-2

2 Sami Hultine def Kenzie Harrison 2-6, 7-5, 10-4

3 Lisa Viuhkonen def Alexis Marcy 7-5, 6-0

4 Asmina Brahimi def Teryn Griffin 6-1, 6-3

5 Leilah Dudziak def. Mallory Yanda 6-2, 6-3

6 mutual default - no points

The Vikings (4-10) welcome the Roosevelt University Lakers to the North Park Tennis Courts on Monday, April 15, with matches starting at 4:30 p.m.

--NPU--