Cardinals Defeat Austin Peay

Friday, February 21

LOUISVILLE, KY

4:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Austin Peay

Dina Chaika during the Cardinals match against Bowling Green University at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center on February 15.

February 21, 2020 | Women's Tennis

Cards win 6-1

By: Nancy Worley

LOUISVILLE, Ky -- The University of Louisville women's tennis team continues their strong start to the 2020 season by picking up a 6-1 win over Austin Peay on Friday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Louisville clinched the doubles point with a win at No.2 by Raven Neely and Diana Wong, who shut out Fabienne Schmidt and Aleks Topalovic 6-0. UofL clinched the point when the No. 3 pair of Dina Chaika and Nikolina Jovic downed Ana Alvertson and Sarah Heckel 6-3.

"I feel like we play aggressive tennis, so when we are executing, it's hard for teams to do what they do. They always have to either react to us, or they have to figure out a way to neutralize what we're doing. As long as we play that way, I'm happy with it," said Mark Beckham, UofL head coach.

The Cardinals stayed on top of the Governors in singles, starting with a win at No.1 when Raven Neely defeated Fabienne Schmidt 6-4, 1-0. The next point was won by Rhea Verma at No. 2, who won 6-2, 6-2 over Danielle Morris. The match was clinched by Dina Chaika at No. 6, who rolled 6-0, 6-4 over Sarah Heckel. The Cards also got a point from Nikolina Jovic, who won 6-3, 6-1 over Marina Paladini-Jennings. Diana Wong also secured a point at No. 5, who won 6-4, 6-4 over Aleks Topalovic.

"The team we were playing against plays very aggressively. They like to control what's going on. I told them what to expect and how to counter that beforehand, and I feel like we did those things. I think we played some solid tennis," said Beckham.

The Cards will return to action on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 12 p.m. to take on NC State at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

Austin Peay vs Louisville
Feb. 21, 2020 at Louisville, Ky.
Bass-Rudd Tennis Center
Louisville 6, Austin Peay 1

Singles competition
1. Raven Neely (LOU) def. Fabienne Schmidt (APSU) RET
2. Rhea Verma (LOU) def. Danielle Morris (APSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Jana Leder (APSU) def, Jelena Vujanic (LOU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Nikolina Jovic (LOU) def. Marina Paladini-Jennings (APSU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Diana Wong (LOU) def. Aleks Topalovic (APSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Dina Chaika (LOU) def. Sarah Heckel (APSU) 6-0, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Rhea Verma/Andrea Di Palma (LOU), Danielle Morris/Jana Leder (APSU) DNF
2. Raven Neely/Diana Wong (UL) def. Topalovic/Schmidt (APSU) 6-0
3. Dina Chaika/Nikolina Jovic(LOU) def. Ana Albertson/Sarah Heckel (APSU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Louisville: 8-1, Austin Peay: 7-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1) Singles (1,2,6,3,4,5)