Creighton’s women’s tennis looks towards rounding out a successful season at the Big East Championships in Cayce, South Carolina as the 3 seed, their highest placement in program history. 

Starting with their opening match in Grand Forks, all the way to their most recent match in Wichita, players have experienced tremendous feats, coupled with occasional disappointment. 

Expectations for this season were high as the Bluejay’s showcased a strong roster including the 2022 Big East Freshman of the Year, Valerie Negin, and Big East First Team player, Kate Krueger. 

Creighton’s roster proved its strength, as Krueger and junior Bianca Rademacher were recognized as Big East Women’s Doubles Team of the Week on April 3. Junior Malvika Shukla and fifth-year senior Leanne Kendall also received Big East Women’s Doubles Team of the Week twice this season, on Feb. 6 and March 13. 

The season started strong with six straight wins over the University of North Dakota, Air Force Academy, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Bradley University, Southwest Minnesota State University and University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

Their win streak ultimately ended as they narrowly fell to Drake, their second to last match before their Big East opener. As Big East play commenced, the Bluejays had a successful showing, going 4-2 overall. 

One of their two losses included a 2-5 loss to DePaul. DePaul, the 2 seed in the Big East Championships, is crucial to be wary of. The Bluejays biggest challenge lies in deuce points, as their precious loss came down to these critical points. DePaul has a consistent reputation of success in the Big East Championships, going to the finals the past two years. 

While Creighton did not play Xavier, the Big East 2021 and 2022 champions, this year, the two teams both experienced losses to Wichita State. Xavier was the 3 seed in last year’s tournament, potentially a good omen for the Bluejays. 

In order to outperform their competition, the Bluejays must focus on clinching the doubles point to set the tone for matches. Doing so will alleviate subsequent pressure of their individual performances in singles matches. 

The Bluejays finished their regular season with a 15-7 record and are set to play their first match on Friday. The match will be played against the winner of UConn versus Seton Hall.