NCAA-II Tourn., 2nd round	FINAL
PANTHERS (17-5)	4
#10 Indianapolis (17-6)	2

 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— Drury knocked off 10^th ranked Indianapolis 4-2 to win the Midwest Sub-Regional championship and advance in the NCAA-II Tournament on Tuesday in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
The Panthers, seeded fifth in the Midwest Regional, improved to 17-5 and avenged a loss to the Greyhounds nine days ago in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game. Indianapolis, the number one seed in the Midwest Regional, ended their season with a 17-6 record.
 
Drury took a 1-0 lead, winning two of the three doubles matches. Maria Fernanda De la Torre Ugarte Espejo and Clara Kuehnle posted a 6-1 win over Maria Fiacan and Margarita Andreiuk. UIndy evened the doubles competition with a win from Sofia Sharonova and Anna Novikova, a duo ranked 16^th nationally in doubles, against Ewa Samberger and Kseniia Eremina, 6-2. The Panthers seized the doubles point with a 6-3 win from Alma Abazi and Nastasia Jedrychowski against Lea Cakarevic and Diane Flament.
 
Indianapolis tied the match at 1-1 in the number one singles match-up as Anna Novikova, ranked 33^rd in the nation, got past 36^th ranked Nastasia Jedrychowski, 6-2, 6-1. Drury then won two singles matches to go up 3-1 with wins from Clara Kuehnle, 6-2, 6-0 over Margarita Andreiuk, and Kseniia Eremina against Sofia Sharonova, 6-3, 6-1.
 
The Greyhounds picked up a win in the number five match, but the Panthers clinched the sub-regional championship point with Ewa Samberger's win. The sophomore from Poland defeated Maria Fiacan 6-0, 6-4 to send Drury to the next round.
 
"We had a great day yesterday," said Drury head coach Jarrod Smith, whose team advanced through the first round with a dramatic 4-3 win over fourth-seeded Findlay. "But (after the win), the girls were saying that they didn't come here to win one game; they wanted to win the regional. Indy played really well today and we just found a way to take ourselves to another level. We definitely saved our best tennis of the year for right now and I couldn't be more over the moon for their performance. 
 
"That was the best we've played doubles all season, and you could see us gain confidence with that point. We knew we had a swing a point from them somewhere based on last week. To get that right away was big; it gave us some really great energy and we imposed ourselves on them after that." 
 
The Panthers will advance to the round of 16 and the NCAA-II Tournament's final site at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, May 12-16. Drury's win marks the first time the Panthers have advanced to the round of 16 since 2018.  
 
#41 Drury Panthers 4, #10 Indianapolis 2
May 02, 2023 at Indianapolis, Ind. (UIndy Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #33 Anna Novikova (INDY-W) def. #36 N. Jedrychowski (DRURY-W) 6-2, 6-1
2. Clara Kuehnle (DRURY-W) def. Margarita Andreiuk (INDY-W) 6-2, 6-0
3. Ewa Samberger (DRURY-W) def. Maria Fiacan (INDY-W) 6-0, 6-4
4. Alma Abazi (DRURY-W) vs. #72 Lea Cakarevic (INDY-W) no result
5. Diane Flament (INDY-W) def. Leana Chanove (DRURY-W) 6-1, 6-1
6. Kseniia Eremina (DRURY-W) def. Sofia Sharonova (INDY-W) 6-3, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. #16 Sofia Sharonova/Anna Novikova (INDY-W) def. #39 Ewa Samberger/Kseniia Eremina (DRURY-W) 6-2
2. Maria Espejo/Clara Kuehnle (DRURY-W) def. Maria Fiacan/Margarita Andreiuk (INDY-W) 6-1
3. Alma Abazi/N. Jedrychowski (DRURY-W) def. Lea Cakarevic/Diane Flament (INDY-W) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Drury Panthers 17-5; National ranking #41; Regional ranking #5
Indianapolis 17-6; National ranking #10; Regional ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,2,6,5,3)
NCAA-II Tournament, 2nd Round
A-42