Leathernecks shutout two teams in weekend competition

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women's tennis team opened weekend matches with a loss to Chicago State, Saturday, but went on to shutout both Greenville College and Quincy, Sunday.

The Cougars defeated the Fighting Leathernecks, 5-2, Saturday, outdoors at the varsity courts in Macomb, Ill. Amy Unzicker recorded Western's solo singles win as she defeated Penny Moore by scores of 7-6 (4) and 6-4 at the No. 5 position. Claire Griffin earned a point for Western in singles play by default as Chicago State did not have a competitor at the No. 6 spot.

Unzicker later paired up with Griffin for a default win at No. 3 doubles. CSU earned the doubles point as Dian Mayasari and Golda Rubina defeated Yana Meinert and Marcela Brandao, 8-2, at No. 1 doubles. Juan Rosalina and Juan Rosalia took No. 2 doubles, 8-0, over Stephanie Baumer and Jill Furlong.

Weather forced the Leathernecks to compete indoors Saturday morning as Western opened the day with a 7-0 victory over Graceland at the Lakeside Racquet Club in Galesburg, Ill. Baumer went into three sets with Carolina Verdezoto at No. 1 singles and came out on top by scores of 1-6, 6-2 and 1-0 (7). Furlong took No. 2 singles by scores of 6-2 and 6-1. Like Baumer, Meinert dropped the first set in the No. 3 singles flight, but battled back to record the win by scores of 5-7, 6-1 and 6-0. Unzicker recorded a 6-1 and 6-2 win over Michelle McCabe at No. 4 singles spot. Kennedy and Griffin each won by walkover.

In doubles play, Meinert and Brandao bounced back from Saturday's competition to defeat Verdezoto and Laura Barriga, 8-1, in the No. 1 position. Baumer and Kennedy won No. 2 doubles 8-4 and Unzicker and Griffin closed out doubles play on a walkover.

Saturday evening the Leathernecks defeated Quincy 7-0 with the first three positions not giving up a single point in the second set. Baumer took No. 1 singles, 6-1 and 6-0, Furlong won No. 2 singles, 6-1 and 6-0 and Meinert recorded the No. 3 singles victory, 6-4 and 6-0. Unzicker, Kennedy and Griffin closed out the final three positions with a Western Illinois win each.

Meinert and Brandao battled for the No. 1 doubles point as they defeated Pam Ganer and Leslie Ganer 8-7 (5). Baumer and Furlong paired up for No. 2 doubles and came out with an 8-4 win. Unzicker and Griffin had the largest win in the No. 3 doubles flight as they defeated Michelle Bartelsman and Megan Marsot 8-1.

“It was nice to get some individual and team wins this weekend,” Western Illinois head coach Michael Hunt said. “It was a challenging weekend with going back and forth with the weather - playing inside, playing outside. I am very pleased for Amy (Unzicker) and Claire (Griffin) both going undefeated over the weekend in singles and doubles. We have a tough week coming up with Bradley tomorrow and a conference cluster in Fort Wayne this weekend. We will have to get rested and ready to compete.”

The Leathernecks play host to Bradley for one final home match of the season, Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Macomb, Ill. Western then travels to Fort Wayne, Ind., for a final three-day Summit League cluster, April 1-3.

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Players Mentioned

Jill Furlong: PLAYER; 5' 6"; Freshman

Amy Unzicker: PLAYER; 5' 7"; Sophomore

Yana Meinert: PLAYER; 5' 9"; Senior

Stephanie Baumer: PLAYER; 5' 10"; Senior

Claire Griffin: PLAYER; 5' 6"; Sophomore

Marcela Brandao: PLAYER; 5' 8"; Redshirt

Players Mentioned

Jill Furlong
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: PLAYER

Amy Unzicker
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: PLAYER

Yana Meinert
: 5' 9"; Senior
: PLAYER

Stephanie Baumer
: 5' 10"; Senior
: PLAYER

Claire Griffin
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: PLAYER

Marcela Brandao
: 5' 8"; Redshirt
: PLAYER