BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Tennis finished its 2022 home schedule on Sunday afternoon with a match against the Saint Louis Billikens.
The Lady Toppers defeated the Billikens at home on Sunday to improve 17-8 on the campaign. This completes the best home record in program history with a record of 12-4 in Bowling Green.
WKU took the early edge after winning the doubles point. The No. 3 duo of Sofia Blanco and Samantha Martinez finished first of the three matches, winning 6-2. They improved to 12-4 in doubles on the year, good for second-best on the team behind the No. 1 doubles pair of Cora-Lynn von Dungern and Paola Cortez. Following that, Laura Bernardos and Mariana Zegada took care of business on Court 2, winning 6-4 to give the Lady Toppers the early 1-0 lead. They get their third doubles win on the season.
In singles, WKU won five of six matches to take the match.
Rachel Hermanova was first to finish at the No. 4 spot winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1. She improved to a team-best, 17-5 on the season. On Court 3, Paola Cortez also got the win in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0. She is now 15-8 this season in singles with the second most wins behind Hermanova. Sofia Blanco was able to clinch the match-deciding point for the second straight day, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to earn the fourth point for the Lady Toppers.
Down 4-0, the Billikens were able to secure their first and only point of the match, winning on Court 1. The final two matches went in favor of WKU with Mariana Zegada earning her first singles win of her collegiate career at the No. 6 position, winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 and Laura Bernardos winning on Court 2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 to get the Tops the 6-1 victory.
"I thought that was one of our best performances of the year today. I mean the freshman really stepped us for us. I am really happy for them. Sofia clinched the match again, but Rachel and Mariana helped out a great deal. I could not be happier with the play of the team." head coach Greg Davis said. "We wanted to send the seniors home with a victory today and we did just that. Next week we have a very, very difficult match at Marshall which is never an easy place to go to. They are a very talented team and a tough place to go into and play. They are very well coached and a deep roster, but we are playing our best tennis of the year at the right time, so I could not be more pleased with the team right now."
WKU will conclude the regular season next weekend on Saturday, April 16 against Marshall. The match will begin at 1 p.m. and will be played in Huntington on Marshall's campus.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 4,3,5,1,6,2)
1: Norhan Hesham (SLU) def. Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
2: Laura Bernardos (WKU) def. Elizabeth Mintusova (SLU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
3: Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Mariona Perez (SLU) 7-5, 6-0
4: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Lucija Faj (SLU) 6-4, 6-1
5: Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Jessica Stefan (SLU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
6: Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Mya Spencer (SLU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2)
1: Cortez/von Dungern (WKU) vs. Perez/Mintusova (SLU) 5-6, unfinished
2: Bernardos/Zegada (WKU) def. Faj/Hesham (SLU) 6-4
3: Blanco/Martinez (WKU) def. Barlow/Spencer (SLU) 6-2
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