BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Both the WKU men's and women's tennis teams halted a pair of losing streaks on Saturday, sweeping visiting Campbellsville in both matches. The win ended a two-match skid for the Lady Toppers, and a three-match losing streak for the men.
However, Saturday's success was wedged in between a pair of losses on both Friday and Sunday, as Austin Peay and Morehead State swept the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers.
The trip to Clarksville, Tenn., on Friday was the first road test of the season for WKU, taking on Austin Peay out of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Governors used a clean sweep in all four singles matches in men's play, along with gaining the doubles point to pull away from WKU for a 5-0 win.
The result was much of the same on women's side, as the Lady Governors took all five singles matches, ultimately winning the match 5-0 after both teams opted out of playing the doubles portion of the match.
Less than 24 hours following the losses to Austin Peay, WKU got back on the winning track, sweeping Cambellsville, 6-1 on the men's side, and 4-3 in women's play.
The Lady Toppers used the all-important doubles point to hang on for the win, after the two schools split the six singles matches.
Freshman Monta Reinfelde, who lost her first singles match of the season against Austin Peay, returned to form against Cambellsville, taking down Anita Henestrosa in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6 from the No. 1 spot. Reinfelde was also the lone Lady Topper to win a singles match on Sunday against Morehead State. Reinfelde improves to 5-1 in singles play, all from the No. 1 position.
Katrina Vucina and Carrie True also picked singles wins for WKU, both notching their fourth singles victories of the season, just behind Reinfdelde for the team lead. True, one of only two seniors on the WKU women's team, defeated Campellsville's Kristen Hamrick, 6-4, 6-1, while the sophomore Vucina took down Aspen Edwards 6-2, 6-1.
The Lady Toppers swept all three doubles, with the team of Reinfelde and freshman McKinley Mason playing from the top spot and winning, 8-3. The freshmen duo have now won three doubles matches from the No. 1 spot, tied for the team lead with Alex Crofford and Carrie True.
True and Crofford won their doubles match on Saturday, 8-4, improving to 3-1 as a team. They lost their first doubles match of the season on Sunday against Morehead State.
Megan Stephens and Katrina Vucina also notched a win in doubles play on Saturday, as the two played together for the first time this season, defeating Campbellsville's Kristen Hamrick and Stacey Drew, 8-1.
For the Hilltoppers on Saturday, only one singles match went to Campbellsville, as the Hilltoppers took five singles and two of the three doubles, for a convincing 6-1 win.
Arul Selvan continued his tear from the No. 2 singles spot, winning his third match in the last four after moving to the No. 2 position. Selvan defeated Campbellsville's Pablo Numbela in three sets, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Senior Currie Martin picked up his third singles victory of the season, winning over Filip Pavlovic, 6-3, 7-5 from the No. 3 spot, then picked up another win on Sunday against Morehead State, one of only two Hilltoppers to earn wins on Sunday..
Freshman Caleb Ball picked up a win over Terry Caven in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0, for his second win of the season. Lance Freeman and Robert Whitmer also each picked up a pair of singles wins, with Freeman also winning his fourth singles match of the season on Sunday against Morehead State, all from the No. 4 position.
Despite dropping the top doubles match, the Hilltoppers rallied to win both the second and third doubles to earn the point. The team of Craig Kirchgessner and Caleb Ball nothed their third win of the season as doubles partners, winning 8-5 from the No. 2 spot.
The success for WKU on Saturday didn't carry over into Sunday, as visiting Morehead State swept WKU on the final day of its three matches in three day swing over the weekend.
Only freshman Monta Reinfelde notched a win for the Lady Toppers (4-3) in singles, as the WKU women fell, 6-1.
The Hilltppers (2-5) were able to find the win column in a pair of singles matches against Morehead State, with Currie Martin and Lance Freeman each picking up wins. However, the two Hilltoppers were the only one's to pick up wins on Sunday, as the WKU men fell, 5-2.
Freeman and Martin also picked up a win in doubles play on Sunday, after also winning on Saturday against Campbellsville. Martin and Freeman moved to 4-2 as a doubles team following the pair of wins over the weekend.
The Lady Toppers will return to action on Saturday, February, 26 against Belmont, before both the Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers play host to Cumberland University in what will the final scheduled home match until March 20.
