Tennis Teams Conclude Opening Weekend

The Marquette University men's and women's tennis teams completed their respective opening weekends of the 2021-22 campaign with action at a trio of events across the region.

Both squads sent a pair of players to the 45^th Annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic, with the remainder of the men's roster traveling to the Drake Invitational. The women's team also participated in the Redbird Invite, hosted by Illinois State.

"One of the most important aspects of the fall schedule is to get in as many matches as possible and this weekend provided that opportunity," director of tennis Steve Rodecap said. "We did a lot of good things, but there is still plenty of work to be done as tournament play continues."

At the MTC, Stefan Dragovic and Fran San Andres were in action for the men's squad. San Andres earned an opening win in main draw action, but fell in his second outing. The duo also competed in doubles action. For the women, Natalijia Popovic claimed a pair of back draw victories and Emilija Kojcic also competed in the main draw.

Highlights for the women's team at Illinois State included back draw titles by Sarah Badawi and newcomer Nicole Hopman. The Golden Eagles claimed a total of five tiebreaker victories and earned wins in each of its four doubles matches on Sunday.

The men's team featured nine players at Drake and singles and doubles action. Freshman Elijah Zifferblatt earned his first career victory in his debut, downing Sean Bochman of Gustavus Adolphus 6-2, 6-1.