BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Tennis continued its 2023 campaign splitting its doubleheader on Friday against UT Chattanooga and Eastern Kentucky. The Lady Toppers move to 2-1 on the year, while the Mocs improve to 2-0 and the Colonels drop to 1-2.
UT Chattanooga Recap
The Lady Toppers started slow, losing the doubles point for the second straight match. Chattanooga took all three doubles matches giving the Mocs an early 1-0 lead.
WKU was unable to gain momentum in singles play, dropping the match on court three, 6-2, 6-2. Down 2-0, the Lady Toppers put their first point on the board. Rachel Hermanova won in straight sets on court four, 7-5, 6-3. The sophomore improves to 2-0 on the season and 21-5 in her collegiate career. Following that, the Mocs took a commanding 3-1 lead by winning at No. 5 6-4, 7-6 (3). On court one, Paola Cortez earned her first win of the season, winning in three sets, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3. The junior moves to 1-1 on the season. Unlike the season opener, the Lady Toppers could not dig out of the hole, dropping the final two matches at No. 6 and No. 2, making the final score, 5-2, in favor of Chattanooga.
Final Results vs. UT Chattanooga
Singles (Order of finish: 3,4,5,1,6,2)
1: Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Coco Bosman (UTC) 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3
2: Jessie Young (UTC) def. Sayda Hernandez (WKU) 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3
3: Caroline Gibbens (UTC) def. Sofia Blanco (WKU) 6-2, 6-2
4: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Nicole Abel (UTC) 7-5, 6-3
5: Lucia Garrigues-Melendez (UTC) def. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
6: Pippa Bosman (UTC) def. Mariana Zegada (WKU) 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish: 2,1,3)
1: Young/Gibbens (UTC) def. Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) 6-4
2: Abel/Garrigues-Melendez (UTC) def. Blanco/Zegada (WKU) 6-3
3: C. Bosman/P. Bosman (UTC) def. Damera/Martinez (WKU) 6-3
Eastern Kentucky Recap
WKU won the doubles point for the first time this season in dominant fashion. The No. 3 duo of Martinez and Zegada did not drop a game, winning 6-0. To follow that up, the No. 2 pair of Sofia Blanco and Rachel Hermanova also took care of business, winning 6-1 to secure the doubles point going into singles play.
In singles play, Sofia Blanco, Sunskrithi Damera, and Mariana Zegada each won in straight sets to clinch the win for the Lady Toppers. Blanco earned her first win of the season, winning her match on court four, 6-1, 6-2. Damera got her second win as a Lady Topper, 6-2, 6-1 on court five. The junior is now 2-1 on the season. Zegada also improved to 2-1 on the year, getting the match-securing victory, 6-2, 6-2 on court six to go up 4-0.
With the match already won, the final three matches were played out. Paola Cortez collected her second win of the day, 6-1, 6-4 on court one. She improves to 2-1 on the year. The court two and three matches each went to a third-set tiebreaker, with both Lady Toppers coming out on top. Sayda Hernandez extended the lead, winning 6-0, 3-6, 10-5. The junior claimed her second win of the season, also improving to 2-1. The final match to finish was on court three, where Rachel Hermanova earned her second win of the day, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. The sophomore stays undefeated on the season, moving to 3-0 and now 22-5 in her collegiate career. She is now tied for 10th in career wins at WKU with Laura Coffey (2003-05).
“I thought we played really well in the second match. EKU is coming off a win yesterday before they came over, and they played a really good match against Northern Kentucky as well,” Davis said. “They have a really good team. They have done an exceptional job putting together a good, competitive team in a short amount of time. We had a tough first match against Chattanooga. Our doubles did not play especially well. Chattanooga had a lot to do with that. We were right there. We just had a couple matches we just could not pull out that could have gone either way in singles, but I give UT Chattanooga credit. They played well and kept the pressure on us the whole match from doubles to singles. Coming into the second match, we were really focused on coming out and playing with energy in doubles and we did a great job of that. We were very happy to carry it over to singles, one through six. I thought this was going to be a lot closer match than 7-0 and I think that has a lot to do with how well we played. I am very proud of the team for coming back after a tough loss earlier in the day.”
Final Results vs. Eastern Kentucky
Singles (Order of finish: 4,5,6,1,2,3)
1: Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Elena Tairian (EKU) 6-4, 6-3
2: Sayda Hernandez (WKU) vs. Daniela Hernandez (EKU) 4-6, 6-4
3: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) vs. Emmeline Polevoi (EKU) 7-6 (2), 3-3
4: Sofia Blanco (WKU) vs. Sasha Parkhomenko (EKU) 2-6, 6-2, 1-4
5: Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. Mariia Triska (EKU) 6-1, 6-3
6: Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Madison HIll (EKU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2)
1: Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) vs. Hernandez/Parkhomenko (EKU) 6-4
2: Blanco/Hermanova (WKU) def. Tairian/Polevoi (EKU) 6-4
3: Martinez/Zegada (WKU) def. Hill/Triska (EKU) 6-0
The Lady Toppers head to Nashville tomorrow to take on the Lipscomb Bisons at 4 p.m. CT.
How to follow WKU Tennis: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Tennis, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUTennis on Twitter and @WKUTennis Instagram.
UT Chattanooga Recap
The Lady Toppers started slow, losing the doubles point for the second straight match. Chattanooga took all three doubles matches giving the Mocs an early 1-0 lead.
WKU was unable to gain momentum in singles play, dropping the match on court three, 6-2, 6-2. Down 2-0, the Lady Toppers put their first point on the board. Rachel Hermanova won in straight sets on court four, 7-5, 6-3. The sophomore improves to 2-0 on the season and 21-5 in her collegiate career. Following that, the Mocs took a commanding 3-1 lead by winning at No. 5 6-4, 7-6 (3). On court one, Paola Cortez earned her first win of the season, winning in three sets, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3. The junior moves to 1-1 on the season. Unlike the season opener, the Lady Toppers could not dig out of the hole, dropping the final two matches at No. 6 and No. 2, making the final score, 5-2, in favor of Chattanooga.
Final Results vs. UT Chattanooga
Singles (Order of finish: 3,4,5,1,6,2)
1: Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Coco Bosman (UTC) 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3
2: Jessie Young (UTC) def. Sayda Hernandez (WKU) 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3
3: Caroline Gibbens (UTC) def. Sofia Blanco (WKU) 6-2, 6-2
4: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Nicole Abel (UTC) 7-5, 6-3
5: Lucia Garrigues-Melendez (UTC) def. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
6: Pippa Bosman (UTC) def. Mariana Zegada (WKU) 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish: 2,1,3)
1: Young/Gibbens (UTC) def. Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) 6-4
2: Abel/Garrigues-Melendez (UTC) def. Blanco/Zegada (WKU) 6-3
3: C. Bosman/P. Bosman (UTC) def. Damera/Martinez (WKU) 6-3
Eastern Kentucky Recap
WKU won the doubles point for the first time this season in dominant fashion. The No. 3 duo of Martinez and Zegada did not drop a game, winning 6-0. To follow that up, the No. 2 pair of Sofia Blanco and Rachel Hermanova also took care of business, winning 6-1 to secure the doubles point going into singles play.
In singles play, Sofia Blanco, Sunskrithi Damera, and Mariana Zegada each won in straight sets to clinch the win for the Lady Toppers. Blanco earned her first win of the season, winning her match on court four, 6-1, 6-2. Damera got her second win as a Lady Topper, 6-2, 6-1 on court five. The junior is now 2-1 on the season. Zegada also improved to 2-1 on the year, getting the match-securing victory, 6-2, 6-2 on court six to go up 4-0.
With the match already won, the final three matches were played out. Paola Cortez collected her second win of the day, 6-1, 6-4 on court one. She improves to 2-1 on the year. The court two and three matches each went to a third-set tiebreaker, with both Lady Toppers coming out on top. Sayda Hernandez extended the lead, winning 6-0, 3-6, 10-5. The junior claimed her second win of the season, also improving to 2-1. The final match to finish was on court three, where Rachel Hermanova earned her second win of the day, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. The sophomore stays undefeated on the season, moving to 3-0 and now 22-5 in her collegiate career. She is now tied for 10th in career wins at WKU with Laura Coffey (2003-05).
“I thought we played really well in the second match. EKU is coming off a win yesterday before they came over, and they played a really good match against Northern Kentucky as well,” Davis said. “They have a really good team. They have done an exceptional job putting together a good, competitive team in a short amount of time. We had a tough first match against Chattanooga. Our doubles did not play especially well. Chattanooga had a lot to do with that. We were right there. We just had a couple matches we just could not pull out that could have gone either way in singles, but I give UT Chattanooga credit. They played well and kept the pressure on us the whole match from doubles to singles. Coming into the second match, we were really focused on coming out and playing with energy in doubles and we did a great job of that. We were very happy to carry it over to singles, one through six. I thought this was going to be a lot closer match than 7-0 and I think that has a lot to do with how well we played. I am very proud of the team for coming back after a tough loss earlier in the day.”
Final Results vs. Eastern Kentucky
Singles (Order of finish: 4,5,6,1,2,3)
1: Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Elena Tairian (EKU) 6-4, 6-3
2: Sayda Hernandez (WKU) vs. Daniela Hernandez (EKU) 4-6, 6-4
3: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) vs. Emmeline Polevoi (EKU) 7-6 (2), 3-3
4: Sofia Blanco (WKU) vs. Sasha Parkhomenko (EKU) 2-6, 6-2, 1-4
5: Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. Mariia Triska (EKU) 6-1, 6-3
6: Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Madison HIll (EKU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2)
1: Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) vs. Hernandez/Parkhomenko (EKU) 6-4
2: Blanco/Hermanova (WKU) def. Tairian/Polevoi (EKU) 6-4
3: Martinez/Zegada (WKU) def. Hill/Triska (EKU) 6-0
The Lady Toppers head to Nashville tomorrow to take on the Lipscomb Bisons at 4 p.m. CT.
How to follow WKU Tennis: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Tennis, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUTennis on Twitter and @WKUTennis Instagram.
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