SIU women’s tennis coach Audra Nothwehr said her team’s confidence was high Saturday as it faced Eastern Illinois University.

The meet was held in Danville and was the second encounter of the two teams this season; the Salukis defeated the Panthers in October during the Fall Classic. SIU continued the trend, beating the Panthers 5-2.

Nationally ranked No. 10 singles player, junior Melanie Delsart, played as SIU’s No. 1 seed and won 6-2, 6-2 against Janelle Prisner of Eastern. SIU’s No. 2 singles player, sophomore Anita Lee, was also victorious, winning 7-6, 6-1. The third and fourth seeds both lost during singles play, but freshmen sisters Ariadna and Gisela Cairo Baza were both victorious as fifth and sixth seeds, winning 6-1, 7-5 and 6-1, 6-1 respectively.

Advertisement

SIU swept the Panthers during doubles play. Partners junior Jennifer Dien and freshman Natasha Tomishima won 8-7. Lee and partner junior Anastacia Simons defeated their opponents 5-3, while Delsart and Gisela Cairo Baza defeated their opponents 8-4.