Aces continue stellar MVC Championship
 Three University of Evansville women’s tennis players will represent their singles flights in the finals as the Purple Aces women’s tennis team had another great day at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championship.
Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga, Nicoli Pereira and Theodora Soldatou each made the singles finals while Diana Tkachenko and Daria Pentsova will be in the finals at second-flight doubles.
Pascual-Larrinaga advanced in the fourth flight as she beat Stony Brook’s Elizabeth Pam, 6-0, 6-3. She faces Illinois State’s Ivon Mihaleva on Monday. In flight 5, Pereira defeated Bradley’s Victoria Gonzalez, 6-4, 6-1 and will take on Drake’s Elizaveta Petushkova in the finals.
Soldatou got past Stony Brook’s Nolwenn Cardoso in the semifinals, 1-6, 6-3 (6-2) and takes on Megan Webb of the Bulldogs on Monday in flight six.
Flight one singles saw Tkachenko fall to Elizabeth Tsvetkov of Stony Brook, 6-2, 6-4. She is slated to face MSU’s Alye Darter in Monday’s third-place contest. In the second flight, Chieko Yamada clinched fifth place, topping Missouri State’s Anelisse Torrico, 6-1, 6-1.
At #3 singles, Daria Pentsova also earned a 5th place finish as she got past Bradley’s Alexa Brandt, 6-1, 2-6 (10-7). Marie Kapelevich was defeated in flight seven by SB’s Amanda Foo and will play for third on Monday. Also in flight seven, Leah Helpingstine fell to Valparaiso’s Halle Roach.
In doubles, Pentsova and Tkachenko hung on for a hard-fought win over Stony Brook, 8-7 (7-5). They face Drake in Monday’s finals in the second flight. Top doubles saw Soldatou and Yamada fall to Bradley by an 8-5 final and they will face Drake on Monday for 3rd place.
Pascual-Larrinaga and Pereira beat MSU, 8-4, and take on UNI for 5th place in the final day at flight three.
