The University of Akron Athletics
Tennis Closes Regular Season With 5-2 Loss
April 21 | Women's Tennis
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron
tennis team closed out its regular season with a 5-2 loss to
Northern Illinois in Mid-American Conference play on Saturday at
Hyre Park. The match served as Senior Day for UA's Jenna
Larson and Aude Percherin.
Northern Illinois (5-11, 1-7 MAC) opened the afternoon by winning the doubles point, but Akron (9-12, 0-8) did not go down easy. At No. 1, the Zips' pair of Tanya Gombera and Amy Sherlock rallied from a 7-4 deficit to win 8-7 (1). At the No. 2 position, Larson and Lindsey Berry trailed 7-2, but were able to pull to within 7-6 before giving up a final margin of 8-6. At No. 3, Alyssa Carlson and Percherin led 3-2, but the Huskies rallied for an 8-5 win.
NIU clinched the match by posting straight-set wins at the last three singles positions, but UA saved some face by pushing Nos. 1-3 into third set supertiebreakers. At No. 1 Gombera claimed a 6-7, 6-1, 10-4 victory, while Larson highlighted her Senior Day with a 6-0, 2-6, 10-8 win at No. 2. Sherlock lost 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 at No. 3.
NIU snapped a 10-match losing streak, while UA lost its eighth in-a-row.
The MAC Championship begins
on Thursday on the University of Toledo campus. Akron and Northern
Illinois will re-match in the first round at noon EDT, as the Zips
finished as the No. 9 seed and the Huskies as the No. 8. The winner
will advance to Friday's quarterfinal round to face top-seeded
Western Michigan at 10 a.m. All matches will be held at UT Varsity
Courts or Ottawa Park, and in the event of inclement weather would
be moved indoors to Laurel Hill Tennis Club.
Northern Illinois 5, Akron 2
Doubles
1-Gombera/Sherlock (UA) def. Brooks/Forsberg (NIU) 8-7 (1)
2-Asuaje/Umemura (NIU) def. Larson/Berry (UA) 8-6
3-Delgadillo/Edner (NIU) def. Carlson/Percherin (UA) 8-5
Singles
1-Tanya Gombera (UA) def. Lilian Asuaje (NIU) 6-7, 6-1, 10-4
2-Jenna Larson (UA) def. Jenny Edner (NIU) 6-0, 2-6, 10-8
3-Nao Umemura (NIU) def. Amy Sherlock (UA) 4-6, 6-3, 10-6
4-Brooke Forsberg (NIU) def. Lindsey Berry (UA) 6-1, 6-3
5-Dora Delgadillo (NIU) def. Alyssa Carlson (UA) 6-1, 6-0
6-Megan Brooks (NIU) def. Laura Hemlepp (UA) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 5, 4, 6, 3, 2, 1
Players Mentioned
