UNK Battles D1 Competition in Omaha

Women's Tennis 9/26/2021 1:47:00 PM

UNK Battles D1 Competition in Omaha

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney women's tennis team had a strong showing at the annual Bluejay Invitational this weekend in Omaha.

The competition included fellow Central Region member Augustana, Creighton, Nebraska-Omaha, Northern Iowa and new Division I member St. Thomas (Minn). There was singles flights (A through F) and doubles between two schools; UNK got to face off against the 'Jays on Friday and the Mavericks on Saturday.

True freshman Alexis Bernthal (Boulder, Colo.) led the way by winning the "B" flight by going 3-0 and working overtime. She beat two 'Jays and a Maverick to come out on top, twice winning a third-set tiebreaker. She then teamed up with sophomore Jazmin Zamorano (Mexico) to win 6-4 at No. 2 doubles against UNO.

The Lopers won a total of 12 singles matches with Zamorano (flight C) and Lincoln freshman Clare Plachy (flight E) each placing fourth. Finally, winning in doubles against UNO at the number one spot was sophomore Melisa Becerra (Colombia) and Myrzaiym "Mia" Sherikulova (Kyrgyzstan), 7-6, with newcomers Narindra Ranaivo (Madagascar) and Masha Hatouka (Belarus) winning at number three doubles vs. CU, 6-4.

UNK heads to Central Oklahoma next weekend for the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regionals. There'll be a seeded singles and doubles brackets with the winners advancing to nationals later this fall.

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Players Mentioned

Melisa Becerra: Sophomore

Jazmin Zamorano: Sophomore

Alexis Bernthal: Freshman

Masha Hatouka: Freshman

Clare Plachy: Freshman

Narindra Ranaivo: Freshman

Myrzaiym "Mia" Sherikulova: Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Melisa Becerra
: Sophomore

Jazmin Zamorano
: Sophomore

Alexis Bernthal
: Freshman

Masha Hatouka
: Freshman

Clare Plachy
: Freshman

Narindra Ranaivo
: Freshman

Myrzaiym "Mia" Sherikulova
: Sophomore