INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — WKU Tennis recorded a 6-1 victory on Friday afternoon at Butler for the team's third win of the year. After winning the doubles point, five Lady Toppers claimed their singles matches, four of them in straight sets.
"I'm very proud of the team's effort today. We played well against a really talented Butler team," head coach Greg Davis said. "It all started with the doubles point and then we put together some strong first sets immediately in singles to get us started the right way."
WKU's No. 3 doubles duo of Tristen Bryant-Otake and Lauren Joch began the match with a 6-3 win. Then, the doubles pair of Laura Bernardos and Samantha Martinez continued their strong play with a 6-3 victory at the No. 2 spot to give the Lady Toppers the opening point and a 1-0 team lead. Bernardos and Martinez improved to 7-2 together at No. 2, while Bryant-Otake and Joch pushed their record together to 5-5 at the No. 3 position.
Bryant-Otake at No. 4, Bernardos at No. 2 and Lisa Friess at No. 5 quickly defeated their Bulldog opponents in straight sets to give WKU a 4-0 advantage and clinch a team victory. For Bernardos, it was her sixth consecutive singles win that improved her record to a team-best 8-5 on the campaign.
A bright spot on the day was Alexis Cramer, who scored a 7-6 (6), 6-0 victory at the No. 6 spot for her first win of the year. The Birdsboro, Pa., native was previously 0-9, including three-set losses in four of her past five tries.
The Bulldogs claimed their lone point of the day with a three-set win at No. 3 before WKU's Cora-Lynn von Dungern recorded a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-8 win at No. 1 in a third-set tiebreaker to cap the day with a 6-1 Lady Topper win. For von Dungern, she improved to 2-0 this season in third-set tiebreakers.
Next up, WKU (3-10) will host back-to-back matches vs. UAB on Saturday, March 27 at 12 noon and against UT Martin on Monday, March 29 at 1:30 p.m. Those will be the final two home competitions for the Lady Toppers this season.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 4,2,5,6,3,1)
1: Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) def. Natalie Boesing (BUTL) 7-6 (6), 4-6, 10-8
2: Laura Bernardos (WKU) def. Lauryn Padgett (BUTL) 6-4, 6-0
3: Delaney Schurhamer (BUTL) def. Lauren Joch (WKU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
4: Tristen Bryant-Otake (WKU) def. Sara Linn (BUTL) 6-1, 6-2
5: Lisa Friess (WKU) def. Veronika Bruetting (BUTL) 6-4, 6-2
6: Alexis Cramer (WKU) def. Hallie Leblebijan (BUTL) 7-6 (6), 6-0
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2)
1: Boesing/Marx (BUTL) vs. Friess/von Dungern (WKU) 5-4, unfinished
2: Bernardos/Martinez (WKU) def. Linn/Schurhamer (BUTL) 6-3
3: Bryant-Otake/Joch (WKU) def. Bruetting/Padgett (BUTL) 6-3
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