Bradley rallied after losing the doubles point to win four of the six singles matches and return to defeat Sam Houston 4-3 Friday at the McAdams Tennis Center in Huntsville.
The contest marked the final non-conference dual match for the Bearkats. Now 5-6 for the year, Sam Houston returns to Southland Conference action Sunday at 11 a.m. against Central Arkansas at home.
The Braves upped their record to 9-8 and head back to Peoria, Illinois, with victories in two of their three matches on a spring break trip to Texas. Bradley lost at Lamar 4-3 and defeated Prairie View 4-1 earlier this week.
Mila Milanovic paired with Fabienne Gettwart to win at number one doubles 6-4 and rallied for a 3-6 7-5 7-5 victory over Ashley Thai at the number four singles to have a hand in two of Sam Houston's three points.
The Kats earned their third doubles point in their 11 matches this season by Caitlyn Mitchell and Maddie Mortimore taking the number three doubles set 6-3.
Ema Barkovic won the number three singles with a 6-0 6-0 performance in a victory over Alexa Brant. The match's deciding point came in the number five singles where Aimee Manfredo bounced back from a first set loss to win 4-6 6-4 6-2 over Mortimore.
The contest marked Sam Houston's first action in two weeks since a split with Nicholls and McNeese on a road trip to Louisiana.
“We showed how young we are today, but youth is no excuse at this point in the season,” Sam Houston head coach Jim Giachino said. “We had some solid individual efforts but we had too many individuals who did not play at a high enough level to win against a team like Bradley.”
Sam Houston has only two matches at home left in a schedule of seven remaining contests. Following Sunday's encounter with UCA, the Bearkats play three road matches at A&M-Corpus Christi, Incarnate Word and Lamar before returning to Huntsville for the home finale Saturday, April 2 with Abilene Christian.
Bradley 4, Sam Houston State University 3
Doubles competition
1. Fabienne Gettwart/Mila Milanovic (SHSU) def. Brandt, Alexa/Thai, Ashley (BRAD) 6-4
2. Dechter, Ariel/Manfredo, Aimee (BRAD) def. Ema Barkovic/Carrie Casey (SHSU) 6-4
3. Caitlyn Mitchell/Maddie Mortimore (SHSU) def. de Lasa, Alejandra/Wijesinghe, Malini (BRAD) 6-3
Singles competition
1. Dechter, Ariel (BRAD) def. Fabienne Gettwart (SHSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. de Lasa, Alejandra (BRAD) def. Carrie Casey (SHSU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Ema Barkovic (SHSU) def. Brandt, Alexa (BRAD) 6-0, 6-0
4. Mila Milanovic (SHSU) def. Thai, Ashley (BRAD) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
5. Manfredo, Aimee (BRAD) def. Maddie Mortimore (SHSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Wijesinghe, Malini (BRAD) def. Caitlyn Mitchell (SHSU) 6-2, 6-4
Match Notes:
Bradley 9-8
Sam Houston State University 5-6
