EAU CLAIRE, Wis./Baldwin, Wis. – The Yellowjacket women's tennis team is off to a strong start in 2023-24. A pair of good days at last week's ITA Midwest Regional was preceded by two convincing wins over WIAC competition.

Saturday the Yellowjackets played two more matches to close out the fall portion of their schedule.
 
The Yellowjackets moved to 3-0 on the early season with an 8-1 win over St. Norbert College to start the day. Later in the day, the win streak came to an end as the Yellowjackets fell to UW-Oshkosh 6-2.
 
Against St. Norbert, the Yellowjackets opened the day in convincing fashion, sweeping all three doubles matches.
 
At No. 1 doubles, Andreina Tejada (Quito, Ecuador/Isaac Newton) and Giulia Araujo De Barros () rolled past Hannah Starr and Mayghan Bongle 8-2. Maya Haupt () and Stella Harris () didn't have much trouble at No. 2 doubles, as they defeated Grace Peters and Anna Vechart 8-3. Things were a little tougher at No. 3 doubles, but the 'Jackets still got the win. Daylyn Drew (Negaunee, Mich./Negaunee) and Jessi Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown) teamed up to outlast Grace McCune and Paige Diercks 8-7.
 
Tejada, the reigning Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year got the win at No. 1 singles, defeating Starr 6-3, 7-5. Haupt rolled past Diercks at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-2. Kukowski followed suit at No. 3 singles, easily dispatching Peters 6-3, 6-1.

St. Norbert got its only win of the day at No. 4 singles, where Araujo De Barros fell to Bongle 3-6, 7-6, 0-1.
 
The 'Jackets got back to their winning ways at No. 5 singles, where Brooke Wilfong (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Tech) beat Vechart 7-5, 6-2. Kate Jonas () closed things out for the Yellowjackets, defeating Madeline Diefenthaler at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 6-2.
 
In the second match of the day, the going was a bit tougher for the Yellowjackets as they took on UW-Oshkosh.
 
The Titans jumped out early, sweeping the three close doubles matches. Tejada and Araujo De Barros fell 5-8 to Olivia Pethan and Alysa Pattee. In the No. 2 slot, Haupt and Harris lost to ella Nguyen and Courtney Carpenter, 6-8. Kayla Gibbs and Hannah Stitt gave Oshkosh the sweep, defeating Kukowski and Drew 8-4.
 
In singles play the Yellowjackets closed the gap some, but in the end it wouldn't be enough. Tejada was up 5-0 in the first set of her No. 1 singles match against Pethan, when the Oshkosh player retired, giving Tejada the win. Haupt was also victorious at No. 2 singles, defeating Pattee 6-2, 6-4.
 
Unfortunately, that is where the winning ended for the Yellowjackets. Oshkosh earned wins in singles slots three-through-six, with all of them coming in straight sets with the exception of No. 5, where the Yellowjackets' Harris and the Titans' Stitt split their sets. For the Yellowjackets, Kukowski was upended at No. 3 singles, Araujo De Barros fell at No. 4 singles, and Drew lost at No. 6 singles.
 
Saturday's matches closed out the fall schedule for the Yellowjackets, who will resume their 2023-24 season Feb. 3 against Macalester at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.