WHEATON, Ill. – The North Park women's tennis team put together a strong effort against defending CCIW champion Wheaton on Friday afternoon, but the Thunder claimed a 5-2 conference victory at the Wheaton Tennis Courts.
Wheaton seized the early momentum by sweeping all three doubles matches. The Vikings were most competitive at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, where the duos of Katharina Schuler and Isabelle Richter, and Nova Mickelsson and Jessica Dudas, each fell by 6-4 scores.
North Park responded in singles play with two standout performances at the top of the lineup. Alexandra Pugachova was dominant at No. 1 singles, rolling to a 6-1, 6-1 victory, while Katharina Schuler added another point for the Vikings with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 singles.
The match's most competitive battle came at No. 4 singles, where Jessica Dudas pushed Sophie Dew to a deciding super tiebreak. After narrowly dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, Dudas bounced back with a 6-4 second-set win before ultimately falling 10-3 in the third-set tiebreak.
Wheaton secured the remaining singles matches at Nos. 3, 5, and 6 to seal the 5-2 win. Despite the setback, North Park showed its depth and competitiveness against the defending conference champions, highlighted by impressive straight-set victories from Pugachova and Schuler at the top of the lineup.
