BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The WKU women's tennis team came up short against Middle Tennessee, 4-2, in the Conference USA Championship in Houston, Texas on Thursday. The Lady Toppers finish the season with a 7-10 overall record and a 1-3 record in Conference USA.
"I am so proud of the girls and the tremendous job they did today," commented head coach Jonatan Berhane. "We were so close; a few points here or there that Middle Tennessee won could have been the difference in the match. We fought hard with great team spirit and kept a positive attitude all season long."
Two Lady Toppers earned victories in the match, giving WKU their first wins in a conference tournament since 2001, when WKU topped LA Tech in a consolation match in the Sun Belt tournament. Tereza Hejlova defended No. 1 singles for the third straight match and walked away with a win, giving her a perfect 3-0 record at No. 1 to end the season. Freshman Hejlova took on senior Tiffany William of Middle Tennessee, who was ranked No. 67 by the ITA in February. Hejlova took the first set, 6-4, and followed that up with a win in the second set, 6-3. Andreanna Christopoulou also got a win for WKU at the No. 3 against Jesse Grace. Grace edged Christopoulou for the first set, 7-5, but Christopoulou bounced back to win the next two sets, 6-3, 6-4. Christopoulou and Hejlova finish the season tied for the best singles record on the team at 12-4.
"Tereza and Andreanna were very impressive today, they both played hard and they played smart," said Berhane.
Emilia Granstrom proved to be a tough out for Darya Shulzhanok at the No. 2 in singles. Shulzhanok took the first set, 6-2, but Granstrom tied the set score with a 6-1 victory. In the third, Shulzhanok proved too much for Granstrom winning the set, 6-3. Elpida Malamou came out flat in the first set against Brittany Huxley at the No. 4, losing 6-0. Malamou found her stride in the second set, but dropped a close decision, 7-5. Maddie Phillips took on Sarah Sediri at the No. 6, but fell short, 6-0, 6-2. Gabby Crofford was in the second set of her match when the match was clinched by Middle Tennessee and called.
Doubles play also featured three close matches. No. 2 finished first with Middle Tennessee getting the win over Tereza Hejlova and Elpida Malamou, 8-5. Andreanna Christopoulou and Emilia Granstrom took Tiffany William and Darya Shulzhanok to the brink, but lost 8-7. Gabby Crofford and Maddie Phillips were up 5-4 against their opponents when the doubles point was clinched by Middle Tennessee.
"Our returners are already motivated and looking forward to next year," Berhane added. The Lady Toppers lose two seniors, Maddie Phillips and Emily Przystawski.
The Lady Toppers end the season with a 7-10 record, matching last season's win total. The season also featured three players with winning records in singles play. Freshman Tereza Hejlova and sophomore Andreanna Christopoulou recorded a 12-4 record while freshman Elpida Malamou notched a 9-7 record. The team also finished with an overall winning record in doubles, going 21-19 throughout the season.
With the win, Middle Tennessee improves to a perfect 7-0 record in Conference USA, giving them the best record among conference teams. In March, Middle Tennessee was ranked No. 65 overall by the ITA.
