WICHITA, Kan. – Junior Meredith McDonagh and freshman Lauren Watts both advanced to the second round of their flight brackets to highlight Bradley’s showing during the opening day of the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Tennis Individual Championships Friday at the Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex.

Both McDonagh and Watts overcame first-set losses to pull out 3-set victories.  McDonagh knocked off Northern Iowa’s Lindsay Cayton in Flight 5 Singles (2-6, 6-3, 6-0), while Watts rallied for a 3-set win against Evansville’s Kelsey Edens (5-7, 6-0, 6-3) in Flight 7 Singles. 

McDonagh will face Illinois State’s Stefanie Youngberg Saturday in the Flight 5 semifinals, while Watts will take on Drake’s Jordon Eggleston in the Flight 7 semis.

The Braves picked up a third singles win Friday when sophomore Corey Mattson rebounded from her first-round loss in Flight 2 Singles with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Drake’s Lea Kozulic in her first consolation match.  Mattson will face UNI’s Kriss Lankelma in the Flight 2 fifth-place match.

In addition to Friday’s singles action, each of Bradley’s three doubles teams dropped their first-round matches.

Complete tournament results and updated draws are available online at the Tournament Central site, managed by Wichita State.

Bradley First-Round Singles Results
Flight 1:  Jennie Hartjes (Creighton) def. Sarah Rodefeld (Bradley) 6-1, 6-3
Flight 2:  Phyllis Tigges (Illinois State) def. Corey Mattson (Bradley) 6-3, 6-0
Flight 3:  Nelle Boyd (Drake) def. Adele Henke (Bradley) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1
Flight 4:  Emily Richardson (Evansville) def. Carly Miles (Bradley) 6-1, 6-4
Flight 5:  Meredith McDonagh (Bradley) def. Lindsay Cayton (UNI) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
Flight 6:  Gabby Phillips (Illinois State) def. Brigitte Graf (Bradley) 6-0, 6-1
Flight 7:  Gisela Cairo Baza (Southern Illinois) def. Monique Graf (Bradley) 6-1, 6-0
Flight 7:  Lauren Watts (Bradley) def. Kelsey Edens (Evansville) 5-7, 6-0, 6-3

Bradley Consolation Round Singles Match-Ups
Flight 1:  Phoebe Walker (UNI) def. Sarah Rodefeld (Bradley) 6-1, 6-0
Flight 2:  Corey Mattson (Bradley) def. Lea Kozulic (Drake) 6-2, 6-2
Flight 3:  Chelsea Moore (UNI) def. Adele Henke (Bradley) 6-0, 6-4
Flight 4:  Karlin Naslund (Creighton) def. Carly Miles (Bradley) 6-3, 6-1
Flight 6:  Taylor Koehrsen (Creighton) def. Brigitte Graf (Bradley) 6-2, 6-1

Bradley First-Round Doubles Results
Flight 1:  James/Costales (Evansville) def. Rodefeld/Henke (Bradley) 8-2
Flight 2:  Abello/Ilves (Illinois State) def. Mattson/Miles (Bradley) 8-5
Flight 3:  Snyder/Naslund (Creighton) def. M. Graf/McDonagh (Bradley) 8-0