Head Coach Davis Interview
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Tennis will start its 2021 season this weekend, as the Lady Toppers travel to No. 15 Vanderbilt on Sunday, Jan. 17 and Bellarmine on Monday, Jan. 18. Both matches will begin at 1 p.m. CT.
"We're excited. It's good to have everybody back on campus," head coach Greg Davis said. "We're looking forward to having the chance to play Vanderbilt and Bellarmine is an up-and-coming team, so we'll definitely have our hands full starting this weekend."
The Lady Toppers finished their 2020 spring season with a 6-10 dual match record before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WKU returns six letterwinners – Lisa Friess, Laura Bernardos, Cora-Lynn von Dungern, Tristen Bryant-Otake, Lauren Joch and Kyla Dilger – from that team to go along with newcomers Alexis Cramer, Samantha Martinez and Adriana Subias.
"We have a great deal of experience, which is important. Davis said. "With five of the top six back from last year, they've all played [many] matches in college. They're not going to get caught off-guard by anything. They know the level of the competition we're going into week-to-week."
The Commodores had a 7-3 dual match record in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This past week, they were ranked No. 15 in the 2021 Preseason Oracle/ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Team Rankings, while an individual – Christina Rosca – came in at the No. 20 spot in singles. WKU and Vanderbilt have only ever played twice: an 8-1 win by the Lady Toppers in 1978 and a 9-0 victory by the Commodores in 1984.
Meanwhile, WKU is 6-0 all-time against Bellarmine, with the first matchup a 7-0 victory in 2006 and the most recent being a 6-1 win in 2014. The Knights had an undefeated 9-0 dual match record in 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are making the jump to NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference in 2021 after previously competing in Division II and the Great Lakes Athletic Conference.
WKU competed in one tournament in the fall, hosted by Middle Tennessee from Oct. 16-17. The Lady Toppers played a total of 19 singles matches and seven doubles matches overall against the host Blue Raiders and visiting East Tennessee State.
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