Haley Dekkinga
NIU’s Haley Dekkinga came back from a set down to defeat Drake’s Lea Kozulic at No. 2 singles to clinch the Huskies’ 4-3 victory over the Bulldogs Saturday at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines.
The victory extended Northern Illinois’ spring winning streak to eight matches as the Huskies shut out Nebraska-Omaha, 7-0, in their first match of the day.
Dekkinga’s 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win gave NIU a split of the singles matches versus Drake after Northern Illinois won the doubles point with a trio of 8-6 superset wins. Nelle Youel and Mary Malkin joined Dekkinga in the singles win column with straight-set victories at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, respectively.
Northern Illinois won for the 11th time in 12 matches this spring to continue its torrid start, while Drake fell to 5-6 and Nebraska-Omaha to 2-3. The Huskies are undefeated in nine matches away from home this spring.
After winning two singles and two doubles matches on the day, Youel remains undefeated in both singles and doubles this spring.
Against UNO, Northern Illinois swept the doubles to take a 1-0 lead and cruised through the singles matches with only Dekkinga extended to a third (super) set. She defeated UNO’s Molly Matricardi 3-6, 6-4 and 10-7 earlier. With the win over Drake’s Kozulic later in the day, Dekkinga improved her season singles record to 10-2 with her second three-set win of the year.
Northern Illinois closes out the weekend Sunday versus Central Arkansas. The teams will play at 10:30 a.m. at the Roger Knapp Tennis Center in Des Moines.
For more information on NIU women’s tennis and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
