BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Despite winning the doubles point for the ninth time in 14 matches, WKU Tennis was unable to carry momentum into singles play, as visiting UAB defeated the Lady Toppers by a score of 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Cora-Lynn von Dungern went undefeated on the day and accounted for each of WKU's team points with a doubles win and singles win, both at the No. 1 position.
"Doubles I think we played as well as we have all year. We had a great performance out of Cora at No. 1 singles and fought hard at No. 2 and 3 singles as well," head coach Greg Davis said. "I thought we had some good performances today, but we still are looking for more consistent performances from every spot."
To begin play, the top doubles duo of von Dungern and Lisa Friess recorded a 6-1 win, then the No. 2 pair of Laura Bernardos and Samantha Martinez clinched the opening point for the Lady Toppers with a 6-3 victory.
The No. 1 pair improved to 7-5 on the season and 3-1 in Conference USA action, while the No. 2 team pushed its record to 8-2 at that spot in the lineup and a perfect 4-0 against league opponents.
After the Blazers won at the No. 4 singles spot, von Dungern record a straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win over her UAB foe. It was the Worms, Germany, native's second consecutive victory and pushed her record to 5-3 over her past eight results.
WKU was pushed to the brink after UAB responded with wins at No. 5 and No. 6 to take a 3-2 team lead. At the No. 2 spot, Bernardos took the first set by a score of 6-0, but was bested in the next two 6-3, 6-3 and the visiting Blazers clinched the match.
At No. 3, Lauren Joch fought back to take the second set by a score of 7-5 after falling in the first 6-3. That singles matchup went unfinished.
"We lost four out of six first sets which gave all our momentum back to UAB and we struggled to get back in it from that point," Davis said.
With the loss, WKU fell to 3-11, while UAB pushed their season mark to 10-6. The Lady Toppers are back in action at the WKU Tennis Complex on Monday, March 29 with a 1:30 p.m. match against UT Martin. The Skyhawks sit at an 0-10 record in their 2021 campaign.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 4,1,5,6,2)
1: Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) def. Jana Heckling (UAB) 6-2, 6-3
2: Adela Wasserbauerova (UAB) def. Laura Bernardos (WKU) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
3: Lauren Joch (WKU) vs. Dominika Hrabalova (UAB) 3-6, 7-5, unfinished
4: Sydney Clarke (UAB) def. Tristen Bryant-Otake (WKU) 6-2, 6-3
5: Megan Bertrands (UAB) def. Lisa Friess (WKU) 6-1, 6-1
6: Annalisa Smith (UAB) def. Alexis Cramer (WKU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles (Order of finish 1,2)
1: Friess/von Dungern (WKU) def. Hrabalova/Wasserbauerova (UAB) 6-1
2: Bernardos/Martinez (WKU) def. Clarke/Hecking (UAB) 6-3
3: Bryant-Otake/Joch (WKU) vs. da Silva/White (UAB) 5-4, unfinished
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