Natalia Nikolopoulou won the #4 singles championship, and Agnes Gustafsson and Ana Jover claimed the #1 doubles title, at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships, which concluded Sunday.


Nikolopoulou grinded through three sets plus a tiebreaker in her championship match.  Facing an opponent from Illinois State, she bracketed a disastrous second set with gritty wins in a 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (6) final.  All three of her matches during the weekend went three sets, and each followed the pattern of win-loss-win.

Gustafsson and Jover were challenged by a duo from Drake in the final, after breezing through the first two rounds.  They lost just three games across the quarterfinals and semifinals, before claiming the title with an 8-5 win on Sunday.

Also Sunday, Cora-Lynn von Dungern won the third place match in the #5 draw, 7-6 (4), 6-3 over Illinois State.  Three additional players were in singles finals, but Jover, Zara Ryan, and Lea Forste-Dinell all settled for runner-up status.  Jover dropped a 6-2, 6-4 match at #3; Ryan was a 6-4, 7-6 (3) victim in the #6 final; and Forste-Dinell fought to the brink before falling in a third set, 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 at #7.

On the doubles courts, Ryan and von Dungern faced Belmont for the #3 draw championship, but did not get any traction in an 8-1 loss.  Tamara Malazonia and Nikolopoulou fell to Illinois State, 8-5, in the #2 third place match.

The full team will be in action again when the dual match season begins in January.  Those who qualify for ITA Regionals will compete in that event starting October 20.