MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – WKU Women's Tennis had a strong showing in its first action of the fall on Friday at the MTSU Invitational at the Adams Tennis Complex.
WKU started the first day of the three-day event with singles matches against Tennessee State, and all eight Lady Toppers claimed victories in their matches. WKU then claimed victories in six of the seven doubles matches it played later in the day.
"I think we had a great day one," WKU Women's Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis said. "Today the goal was to compete to the best of our ability and we, for the most part, did that in singles and doubles. We have an early start and two tough singles matches against MTSU and Lipscomb tomorrow, so Saturday is going to be a big challenge."
In singles matches that began at 1 p.m., Paola Cortez won her match against Warona Mdlulwa 6-2, 6-0. Rachel Hermanova won her match against Louise Ratiu 6-0, 6-3. Sayda Hernandez claimed victory in her match against Fran Gomez-Weiss 6-0, 6-2. In her first action as a Lady Topper, Anna-Marie Kopecka topped Jovana Nikolic 6-3, 6-3. Sofia Blanco defeated Aroa Castillo 6-4, 6-1. Samantha Martinez beat Natalie Walsh 6-0, 6-0. Sunskrithi Damera won her match against Claudia Murdasanu 6-0, 6-0. Mariana Zegada won against Taylor Ellis 6-0, 6-0.
In doubles action starting at 3:30 p.m., WKU claimed three victories over Bellarmine. Cortez and Kopecka won their match against Vendula Kryslova and Erica Kanna Hagi 7-6 (4), Blanco and Martinez won their match against Lillie Willis and Marika Caruk 6-3, and Damera and Hernandez won their match against Jai Garris and Nikola Kollaritsch 6-1. In the same time slot, Hermanova and Zegada won a match against Eastern Kentucky's Madison Hill and Ezem Olcer 6-3.
In the 4:30 p.m. doubles time slot, WKU took two of three matches against Lipscomb. Cortez and Kopecka topped Rut Galiudo and Deborah Dominguez 6-3, and Blanco and Martinez claimed a 7-5 victory over Sasha Dobrano and Anja Trbeznik. Hernandez and Damera fell to Sofiia Paladi and Alina Cherniaieva 6-4.
On Saturday, WKU is scheduled to face the host Lady Raiders in singles matches at 9 a.m. CT before doubles matches against Tennessee State at 12:30 p.m. CT. The Lady Toppers will also have singles matches against Lipscomb at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
WKU is scheduled to wrap up the weekend with singles matches against Eastern Kentucky on Sunday at 8 a.m. CT and doubles matches against Middle Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT.
Friday, Oct. 6
Singles – 1 p.m.
WKU vs. TSU
Paola Cortez (WKU) def. Warona Mdlulwa (TSU) 6-2, 6-0
Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Louise Ratiu (TSU) 6-0, 6-3
Sayda Hernandez (WKU) def. Fran Gomez-Weiss (TSU) 6-0, 6-2
Anna-Marie Kopecka (WKU) def. Jovana Nikolic (TSU) 6-3, 6-3
Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Aroa Castillo (TSU) 6-4, 6-1
Samantha Martinez (WKU) def. Natalie Walsh (TSU) 6-0, 6-0
Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. Claudia Murdasanu (TSU) 6-0, 6-0
Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Taylor Ellis (TSU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles – 3:30 p.m.
MTSU/WKU/TSU vs. EKU
Rachel Hermanova/Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Madison Hill/Ezem Olcer (EKU) 6-3
Bellarmine vs. WKU
Paola Cortez/Anna-Marie Kopecka (WKU) def. Vendula Kryslova/Erica Kanna Hagi (BELL) 7-6 (4)
Sofia Blanco/Samantha Martinez (WKU) def. Lillie Willis/Marika Caruk (BELL) 6-3
Sunskrithi Damera/Sayda Hernandez (WKU) def. Jai Garris/Nikola Kollaritsch (BELL) 6-1
Doubles – 4:30 p.m.
WKU vs. Lipscomb
Paola Cortez/Anna-Marie Kopecka (WKU) def. Rut Galiudo/Deborah Dominguez (LIP) 6-3
Sofia Blanco/Samantha Martinez (WKU) def. Sasha Dobranos/Anja Trbeznik (LIP) 7-5
Sofiia Paladi/Alina Cherniaieva (LIP) def. Sayda Hernadez/Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-4
For all the latest on WKU Women's Tennis, follow @WKUTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
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