HAINES CITY, Fla. – MSU Moorhead saw another strong day in doubles play on Thursday in a pair of matches. The Dragons split two duals in Florida to St. Catherine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
The Dragons defeated the Wildcats, 5-2 before falling to the Spartans, 4-3.
Much like Wednesday, MSUM would control doubles play, sweeping all three matches against the Wildcats.
Shaelyn Johnson and
Luzmary Diaz Castillo would gather a 6-3 win, their eighth of the year.
Sophia Felderman and
Tiannah Gu would win by an identical score over St. Kate's Faith Simon and Erin Wing.
Katryna Hansen and
Claire Nemmers would see a tough match with Monica Zink and Ashley King, but would ultimately prevail, 7-5.
Johnson and Diaz Castillo would keep their momentum going with singles wins at the number one and two positions. Johnson defeated Kelsey Dorr in straight sets but needed a tiebreaker victory in the first set. Coming into the match, Dorr was ranked 31
st in the country in NCAA Division III by ITA. Diaz Castillo earned a straight sets win over Faith Simon, 6-3, 6-2.
Felderman and Gu would cement the Dragon team victory with singles wins of their own. Felderman would defeat Zink in straight sets but claimed a second-set tiebreaker to clinch the victory. Gu collected her ninth win of the season after defeating Liliana Holmberg, 6-3, 6-3.
Dragons 5, Wildcats 2
Doubles
No. 1 –
Luzmary Diaz Castillo/
Shaelyn Johnson def. Kelsey Dorr/Caitlyn Stadter – 6-3
No. 2 –
Sophia Felderman/
Tiannah Gu def. Faith Simon/Erin Wing – 6-3
No. 3 –
Katryna Hansen/
Claire Nemmers def. Monica Zink/Ashley King – 7-5
Singles
No. 1 –
Shaelyn Johnson def. Kelsey Dorr – 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
No. 2 –
Luzmary Diaz Castillo def. Faith Simon – 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Caitlyn Stadter def.
Katryna Hansen – 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 –
Sophia Felderman def. Monica Zink – 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
No. 5 –
Tiannah Gu def. Liliana Holmberg – 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Marie Pelletier def.
Claire Nemmers – 6-1, 6-2
MSUM would again win the doubles point in their second match of the day against St. Thomas Aquinas. Diaz Castillo and Johnson would pick up their ninth win of the season, defeating their Spartan foe, 6-4. Felderman and Gu would secure the team point for MSUM with a 6-4 win over Kateryna Kryuchkova and Sun Zhouxuan.
Singles action saw Johnson and Diaz Castillo remain unblemished in Florida. Johnson needed three sets to defeat Elita Silins but showed great resolve throughout. After falling in the first set, 6-0, Johnson would storm back to claim the second frame, 6-4. In the deciding set, the graduate student would win 1-0 behind a gritty 10-7 tiebreak.
Diaz Castillo would win in straight sets over Courtney Fyvie. 6-0, 6-4. The victory is the junior's 11
th of the season as she moves to 9-1 in the number two position.
Spartans 4, Dragons 3
Doubles
No. 1 –
Luzmary Diaz Castillo/
Shaelyn Johnson def. Courtney Fyvie/ Elita Silins – 6-4
No. 2 –
Sophia Felderman/
Tiannah Gu def. Kateryna Kryuchkova/Sun Zhouxuan – 6-4
No. 3 – Mar Caneves/Elise Semmartin def.
Izabela Flores/
Lakia Manska – 6-0
Singles
No. 1 –
Shaelyn Johnson def. Elita Silins – 0-6,6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
No. 2 –
Luzmary Diaz Castillo def. Courtney Fyvie – 6-0, 6-4
No. 3 – Elise Semmartin def.
Katryna Hansen – 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Kateryna Kryuchkova def.
Sophia Felderman – 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 – Mar Caneves def.
Izabela Flores – 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 – Sun Zhouxuan def.
Lakia Manska – 6-0, 6-0
Up Next
MSUM will wrap up their time in Florida tomorrow in another pair of dual matches. The Dragons take on Grace College at 6:30 a.m. before battling Carthage College at 12:30 p.m.
