ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Wednesday was truly a two-for-one special for Griffon Tennis, taking down their arch nemesis for the first time since 1985 and matching their win total from last season all in one night. 

Missouri Western wins their sixth match in a row with a 6-1 knockoff of Northwest Missouri State at Genesis Health Club to stay undefeated in conference play. The Griffons (12-2, 3-0 MIAA) won the doubles point thanks to wins by the teams of Anya Chavez/Isabella MacGibbon and Ioanna Lathouri/Anaís Peralta Criado. The match was decided in the most dramatic way possible – a three-set No. 2 singles showdown between MWSU's Esther Güemes and Northwest's Tyffaine Pais.

Their match started 4:15 p.m. and wasn't decided until nearly four hours later. Güemes showed why she's 13-0 this season with a dominating 6-1 third-set victory after losing a marathon of a tie-breaker to decide the second set. Her teammates took to the court the moment she won, channeling that momentum over to No. 5 singles where Lathouri added the exclamation point with another three-set victory for the Griffons.

After suffering an injury last season, Lathouri is 2-0 this season after recently returning to 100%. 

Claudia Iglesias capped off the night with a 6-2, 6-3 sweep to beat the Bearcats' Tessa Kwakernaak. Northwest (10-5, 2-1 MIAA) recently just beat No. 25 Nebraska-Kearney 4-3 on Sunday, March 27. Wednesday's loss vs. MWSU ends Northwest's four-match winning streak.

3-30-2022 Results
Doubles
No. 1: Anya Chavez / Isabella MacGibbon (MWSU) def. Alexandra Dodashev / Carolina DeOlivera (NWMSU) 6-0
No. 2: Tessa Kwakernaak / Vera Alenicheva (NWMSU) def. Esther Güemes / Claudia Iglesias (MWSU) 7-6 (7-4 tie-breaker)
No. 3: Ioanna Lathouri / Anaís Peralta Criado (MWSU) def. Julia Aliseda / Sofia Pignataro (NWMSU) 6-3
 
Singles
No. 1: Anya Chavez (MWSU) def. Vera Alenicheva (NWMSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3 tie-breaker)
No. 2:  Esther Güemes  (MWSU) def. Tyffaine Pais 7-5, 6-7 (11-9 tie-breaker) 6-1
No. 3:  Anaís Peralta Criado (MWSU) def. Julia Aliseda (NWMSU) 6-4, 6-3
No. 4: Sofia Pignataro (NWMSU) def. Isabella MacGibbon (MWSU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 5: Ioanna Lathouri (MWSU) def. Carolina DeOliveira (NWMSU) 0-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 6: Claudia Iglesias (MWSU) def. Tessa Kwakernaak (NWMSU) 6-2, 6-3

Next Up

Missouri Western takes the rest of the week off from competition and awaits their toughest test yet: No. 4 Central Oklahoma (8-1, 1-0 MIAA). The match is scheduled for next Saturday, April 9 at 12 p.m. in St. Joseph.