MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- For the first time since 1989, the Lady Toppers' tennis squad defeated Middle Tennessee, 5-0, inside the Adams Tennis Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The victory over the Blue Raiders is also WKU's first win over a Conference USA opponent since topping Florida Atlantic on March 8, 2015.
WKU began Saturday's match firing on all cylinders by winning the doubles point. At the No. 3 spot, the freshman duo of Monica Malinen and Lisa Friess fell short losing 6-1. But WKU came back to win at the No. 2 and 1 spot led by seniors Andreanna Christopoulou and Elpida Malamou outlasting MT's duo of Sarah Sediri and Josefina Zehnder, 6-4, to clinch it.
After claiming the doubles point, Natalia De Ugarte defeated MT's Luisa Zirilli 6-0, 6-4 for the first singles point of the dual match. Senior Elpida Malamou followed suit with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Costanza Magazzini, and freshman Monica Malinen clinched the Lady Topper victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Marta Peris Herrero.
Only one of the remaining matches were played out as Violetta Shatalova defeated Holly Horsfall 6-3, 6-2.
WKU will be back in action tomorrow as the Lady Toppers will take on Indiana at 10 a.m. CT inside the IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Indiana.
Singles
- Josefina Zehnder (MT) vs. A. Christopoulou (WKU) 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
- Elpida Malamou (WKU) def. Costanza Magazzini (MT) 6-4, 6-2
- Lidia Burrows (MT) vs. Cindy Oest (WKU) 3-6, 6-1, 1-2, unfinished
- Natalia De Ugarte (WKU) def. Luisa Zirilli (MT) 6-0, 6-4
- Monica Malinen (WKU) def. Marta Peris Herrero (MT) 6-3, 6-3
- Violetta Shatalova (WKU) def. Holly Horsfall (MT) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
- Christopoulou/Malamou (WKU) def. Sediri/Zehnder (MT) 6-4
- Oest/De Ugarte (WKU) def. Zirilli/Horsfall (MT) 6-2
- Magazzini/Burrows (MT) def. Malinen/Friess (WKU) 6-1
