MURRAY, Ky. — Seniors Lucia Diaz Saez and Lisa Friess tallied singles victories on Friday, but WKU Tennis fell by a score of 5-2 against Central Arkansas.
At the No. 6 position, Diaz Saez secured a come-from-behind, 1-6, 7-5, 10-8 win at the No. 6 position over the Bears' Jaeun Lee, while Friess defeated Central Arkansas' Paulina Engback by a score of 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 5 spot. The Graz, Austria, native improved her team-leading singles record to 6-1 on the season, with a 4-1 mark competing at No. 4 and a 2-0 tally playing at No. 5.
WKU was unable to claim the doubles point on Friday, as the Bears (4-5) claimed matchups at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. Central Arkansas then recorded the first four singles wins before Friess and Diaz Saez earned their points to put the final score at 5-2. Lauren Joch at the No. 3 position fell by a closely-contested score of 5-7, 6-3, 11-9, dropping a third-set tiebreak that would have given the Lady Toppers a singles split.
"Credit to Central Arkansas, they showed why they won their conference and made the NCAA Tournament last year," head coach Greg Davis said. "Lisa and Lucia had good wins at 5 and 6 in singles, which will give us confidence against Wright State tomorrow."
The Lady Toppers (3-5) are back in action in less than 24 hours on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. against Wright State. WKU is 1-1 the all-time series against the Raiders.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 2,4,1,3,5,6)
1: Chunxi Xin (UCA) def. Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) 6-4, 6-2
2: Fuka Nonoyama (UCA) def. Tristen Bryant-Otake (WKU) 6-2, 6-3
3: Mei Ishimura (UCA) def. Lauren Joch (WKU) 5-7, 6-3, 11-9
4: Yada Vaspongchai (UCA) def. Laura Bernardos (WKU) 6-1, 6-3
5: Lisa Friess (WKU) def. Paulina Engback (UCA) 6-1, 6-3
6: Lucia Diaz Saez (WKU) def. Jaeun Lee (UCA) 1-6, 7-5, 10-8
Doubles (Order of finish 2,3)
1: Friess/von Dungern (WKU) vs. Nonoyama/Xin (UCA) 4-3, unfinished
2: Gledic/Vaspongchai (UCA) def. Bernardos/Bryant-Otake (WKU) 6-2
3: Engback/Ishimura (UCA) def. Diaz Saez/Joch (WKU) 6-3
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