BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Tennis continued its 2023 season with a 5-2 win against the Lipscomb Bisons in Nashville, Tenn. this afternoon. The Lady Toppers improve to 3-1, while the Bisons move to 2-1.
"We played well in doubles and that carried over into singles," head coach Greg Davis said. "The key was keeping our momentum going and we won four first sets. I think that put a tremendous amount of pressure on the opposition. Lipscomb is a very deep and talented team, so beating them on the road is a great accomplishment."
The Lady Toppers were able to secure the doubles point for the second straight match, once again winning on court two and three. The No. 2 duo of Sofia Blanco and Rachel Hermanova earned their second win in a row, only dropping one game, winning 6-1. To follow that up, Samantha Martinez and Mariana Zegada put the first point on the board for WKU, winning on court three, 6-4.
Up 1-0 heading into singles, the Bisons responded by winning the court one and two matches, both in straight sets to take the lead, 2-1. Although, that would be the final time Lipscomb would add to the scoreboard.
The last four matches all resulted in wins for the Lady Toppers, starting with Sunskrithi Damera taking care of business on court five, only dropping a single game, winning 6-0, 6-1. She collects her second straight win, bringing her to 3-1 on the season. Just after that, Hermanova won on court three to remain unbeaten. The 6-3, 6-3 victory brings her to 4-0 on the year and 23-5 in her career and now in sole possession of the No. 10 spot on the program's all-time singles win list. The match-clinching point came from Blanco, who also won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. With the matchdecided, the final competiton of the day was played out. Martinez extended the lead for WKU winning in three sets, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. The final tally ended in 5-2, in favor of the Lady Toppers.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 2,1,5,3,4,6)
1: Sasha Dobranos (LIP) def. Paola Cortez (WKU) 6-1, 6-2
2: Sofiia Paladi (LIP) def. Sayda Hernandez (WKU) 6-3, 6-1
3: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Anja Trbeznik (LIP) 6-3, 6-3
4: Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Liza Diachenko (LIP) 6-1, 6-3
5: Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. Taisia Yakunina (LIP) 6-0, 6-1
6: Samantha Martinez (WKU) def. Alina Cherniaieva (LIP) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles (Order of finish 2,3)
1: Dobranos/Paladi (LIP) vs. Dobranos/Diachenko (LIP) 5-4, unfinished
2: Blanco/Hermanova (WKU) def. Trbeznik/Cherniaieva (LIP) 6-1
3: Martinez/Zegada (WKU) def. Diachenko/Howard (LIP) 6-4
WKU's next three matches will take place in Bowling Green, continuing with matchups against Austin Peay on Thursday, January 26 followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, Jan. 29 against Western Carolina and Western Illinois. All matches will be played at the Warren County Tennis Complex, starting at 2 p.m. CT against the Governors on Thursday.
How to follow WKU Tennis: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Tennis, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKUTennis on Twitter and @WKUTennis Instagram.
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