OMAHA, Neb. – The Milwaukee tennis team endured a long day in Omaha, but fought through the weather delay winning four-of-six matches in doubles play at the Bluejay Invitational hosted by Creighton University.
 
The invite was set to begin at 1 p.m., but due to weather and wet playing surfaces, the tournament did not begin until 6 p.m. Despite the delay, the Panthers showcased strong performances all around on day one of the invitational.
 
In Doubles Flight A, Alexandra Belle and Mayya Perova drew North Dakota's Allie Ochotorena and Zahra Finnigan for their first round matchup. The Panther duo had little trouble advancing to the winner's bracket with a 6-3 win. Belle and Perova continued to swing a hot racquet advancing to the flight's doubles final by defeating Omaha's tandem Marie Kapelevich and Natalie Lorentz, 6-4.
 
MKE's Nicole Clarke and Nikki Milner also picked up a win for the Panthers as they dominated Creighton's Ashley Ishimura and Michaela Henne, 6-1 in Flight A. Clarke and Milner fought tough in the second round against North Dakota's Kaede Amano and Preethi Kasilingam, but fell shy of the victory, 7-5.
 
Loren Nelson and Lucy Harper went the distance in Flight B with a 7-5 win over Omaha's Rylee Tucker and Clare Crockett. The duo will take on North Dakota's Masha Lobanova and Isa Sullivan who won their match 6-1.
 
Also in Flight B, Anna Daniel Fuentes and Agata Jurczak came up just short of a in falling to Creighton's Meredith Benson and Julia Aguirre 6-4. The pair will take on Alex Revenig and Jaylee Yasunaga of North Dakota Saturday.
 
The Bluejay Invitation will resume action Saturday morning.
 
Day 2 Schedule
Doubles Flight A Finals: Belle/Perova (MKE) vs. Amano/Klasilingham (ND)
Doubles Flight A Consolation: Clarke/Milner (MKE) vs. Kapelevich/Lorentz (Omaha)
Doubles Flight B: Nelson/Harper (MKE) vs. Lobanova/Sullivan (ND)
Doubles Flight B: Daniel Fuentes/Jurczak vs. Revenig/Yasunaga (ND)