Chicago, Ill. - The Illinois Tech women's tennis team endured another late, long night at the XS Tennis Center on Wednesday night in their conference matchup with MSOE. But the wait was worth it, as the Scarlet Hawks downed the Raiders 5-2 to improve to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play.

In a match that lasted after 11pm, the Scarlet Hawks came back from a 1-0 deficit after doubles play to win five of the six singles matches to claim the match victory.

MSOE jumped out to an early lead in doubles play when the Raiders' number three team of Emily Gutknecht and Simona Sulimas scored a 6-3 victory over the Scarlet Hawks' Paige Geiger and Angelica Conwell. Illinois Tech answered back in the number two doubles match when Maddalena Elisa Rosati Dumangane and Maia Lecuona Romas defeated the Raiders' Delaney Premeau and Amelia Segelstrom , 6-4, evening doubles competition at 1-1. The Raiders would respond in the number one doubles match, however, as Ana Kamiyama and Lana Brooks won a hard-fought match against the Hawks' Martyna Kalinowska and Thea Salcedo 7-5, allowing MSOE to claim the lone doubles point and a 1-0 match lead heading into singles play.

Illinois Tech took control of singles play, claiming victories in the first five completed matches and finished 5-1 overall in singles to earn the 5-2 overall match victory. Rosati Dumagne was the first to the finish line in singles, winning her number two match against MSOE's Stephania Gonzalez 6-1, 6-1. Next was Geiger in the number five singles match, defeating Sulimas 6-0, 6-2. Lecuona Ramos defeated MSOE's Brooks 6-4, 6-2 in the number four singles match to give the Scarlet Hawks a 3-2 overall match lead, and putting them one point away from the overall match victory. That point came in the number three singles match, when the Hawks' Salcedo defeated the Raiders' Premeau 6-0, 6-3 for the clinching fourth match point. Conwell gave the Scarlet Hawks a bonus singles point when she won her number six singles match against MSOE's Gutknecht 7-5, 6-2. The Raiders secured their only singles point in the number one singles match when MSOE's Kamiyama outlasted Illinois Tech's Kalinowska 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 with a 10-7 third set super tie-breaker.

Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks continue conference play on Saturday, September 13th, when they travel to De Pere, Wisconsin to take on St. Norbert, who is also 2-0 in NACC play heading into Saturday's match.