DENTON, Texas — The WKU Tennis season came to an end on Thursday afternoon, as Marshall defeated the No. 11 seed Lady Toppers by a score of 4-0 in the first round of the 2021 Conference USA Tournament. The No. 6 seeded Thundering Herd will advance to the quarterfinals to face No. 4 seed FIU.
WKU entered the day winning 14 doubles points in their first 20 matches, and this one came down to the wire. After Marshall won by a score of 6-4 at the No. 3 position, the Lady Toppers' No. 1 pair of Lisa Friess and Cora-Lynn von Dungern responded with a 6-4 result of their own to knot it up. It was the third consecutive win by the duo, which improved to 13-6 on the campaign.
The No. 2 matchup of Laura Bernardos and Samantha Martinez against Daniela Dankanych and Anna Smith was tied 6-6 and went to a tiebreaker. But the Thundering Herd took the tiebreaker by a score of 7-4 to earn the opening doubles point.
Marshall took the first three singles results, however, to claim the team match by a score of 4-0; the Thundering Herd won at the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 3 spots.
When the match was clinched, Bernardos had a 6-4, 5-1 lead at the No. 2 singles spot and Friess had a 6-4, 3-0 advantage at the No. 5 position.
WKU concluded the season with a 7-14 overall record, having won five of their last nine matches. Bernardos led the squad with a 12-8 record, all at No. 2 singles. Her 12 victories are tied for the seventh-most in a single season in Lady Topper history.
In doubles, the Friess-von Dungern duo's 13 wins led WKU, while the Bernardos-Martinez pair's 12 victories were second on the club.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 1,4,3)
1: Anna Smith (MAR) def. Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) 6-1, 6-2
2: Laura Bernardos (WKU) vs. Daniela Dankanych (MAR) 6-4, 5-1, unfinished
3: Madi Ballow (MAR) def. Lauren Joch (WKU) 6-3, 6-0
4: Liz Stefancic (MAR) def. Samantha Martinez (WKU) 6-3, 6-2
5: Jutte Van Hansewyck (MAR) vs. Tristen Bryant-Otake (WKU) 7-5, 3-4, unfinished
6: Lisa Friess (WKU) vs. Madison Riley (MAR) 6-4, 3-0, unfinished
Doubles (Order of finish 3,1,2)
1: Friess/von Dungern (WKU) def. Stefancic/Van Hansewyck (MAR) 6-4
2: Dankanych/Smith (MAR) def. Bernardos/Martinez (WKU) 7-6 (4)
3: Ballow/Riley (MAR) def. Bryant-Otake/Joch (WKU) 6-4
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