WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.– For the second straight season, Kenyon College’s Eleni Lazaridou secured a signature singles win in an early-season dual against the top-ranked University of Chicago. Playing against their second top-six opponent in less than 24 hours, the No. 21-ranked Owls faced the No. 1-ranked Maroons in a neutral-site dual. Kenyon could not secure its first win of the spring, falling 6-1, but the Owls had a statement win for the second straight day.
The outing did not start as Kenyon would have liked, as the Maroons swept the three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Despite the sweep, Kenyon’s top two duos kept it close, with Shadia Amado Aguad and Clare Hudson coming the closest in a 6-4 loss in the No. 2 bout.
Despite doubles not going Kenyon’s way, the Owls still put up a fight against a singles lineup that featured five UChicago players ranked among the nation’s best individuals. In the No. 2 spot, Amado Aguad, ranked 17th in the Central Region, went back-and-forth against the No. 2-ranked singles player in Division III, Clara Zou. Though Zou won in straight sets, Amado Aguad was right in the match, which was decided by only a few points, falling 7-5, 7-6 (10-5).
Both of Kenyon’s top singles options had strong showings on Sunday, and Lazaridou landed the team’s lone blow against the top-ranked Maroons. Lazaridou faced off against senior Sylwia Mikos atop the singles lineup for a second straight season and again came out on top. Last year, Lazaridou opened her sophomore campaign by upending Mikos, who started the season as the No. 1-ranked singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) DIII women’s rankings. This year, Lazaridou picked up right where she left off, winning in three sets. Though Mikos is only ranked 33rd in the most recent singles rankings, she finished as the runner-up in last year’s NCAA Singles Championship.
Mikos took the first set 6-2, but Lazaridou bounced back with a 6-3 victory to force a deciding third set. The competitors only played a 10-point set to decide the bout, but 10 points were not enough as the duo battled point-for-point. In the end, Lazaridou prevailed 11-9 to clinch the winning set and take the match 2-1.
Unfortunately for the Owls, the impressive victory marked the team’s only point. Maggie Shope pushed Miranda Yuan to a third set in the No. 6 singles match but fell 6-3, 7-5, 1-0 (10-6). The Maroons won the remaining Nos. 3, 4, and 5 singles flights in straight sets.
After taking on the No. 6- and No. 1-ranked DIII teams to start their season, the Owls will look to pick up their first win when they head back to Indiana next weekend on Saturday, February 8, to face DePauw University. The team’s North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.