BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Tennis continued its 2023 season on Friday night, winning its third match in a row with a 4-3 win against Murray State. The Lady Toppers improve to 6-3 on the year, while the Racers fall to 4-2.
The Lady Toppers won the doubles point for the fourth consecutive match, winning on court one and court three. Samantha Martinez and Mariana Zegada got it rolling early for WKU, winning 6-3 on court three. The duo improves to a perfect 5-0 on the season. The racers evened the match, winning at the No. 2 spot, 6-4, but Paola Cortez and Sayda Hernandez secured the first point for the Lady Toppers, winning 6-3 on court one. This marks the first win of the season for the No. 1 pair.
Up 1-0 going into singles play, the Lady Toppers wasted no time getting the final three points they needed to secure the match.
Zegada was the first to finish, not dropping a single game on court six. The sophomore earned the 6-0, 6-0 win, improving to 6-2 on the year. Sofia Blanco also took care of business fairly quickly, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 4 position. She also receives her sixth win on the season improving to 6-3. On court three, Rachel Hermanova clinched the match with her, team-high, seventh win on the 2023 campaign, winning 6-3, 6-4.
With the match already decided, the final three matches were played out, all going in favor of the Racers. Making the final tally, 4-3.
"That was a great win for us. Murray was within a point or two of being undefeated coming in here," said head coach Greg Davis. "Just kind of like last week against Belmont, we knew if we could win a lot of first sets, we would be in this match. Especially after winning the doubles point, that made a big difference. Sofia, Mariana, and Rachel played very, very good in singles. They did a great job of bringing the win home for us. Murray is a tough team. They had gotten the upper hand on us the last few years, so it is a good win for us. Hoping to build on it next week when we up to Ball State and IUPUI."
The Lady Toppers kick off an eight match road stretch next Saturday, February 18 when they head to Muncie, Ind. to face Ball State and continuing on Sunday, Feb. 19 against IUPUI in Indianapolis, Ind.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 6,4,3,1,2,5)
1: Sarah Bureau (MSU) def. Sayda Hernandez (WKU) 6-4, 6-2
2: Emma Honore (MSU) def. Paola Cortez (WKU) 4-6, 6-4, 10-3
3: Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Annika Pschorr (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
4: Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Natalie Slezakova (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
5: Paola Campiogotto (MSU) def. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-2, 7-6 (6)
6: Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Megan Null (MSU) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2,1)
1: Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) def. Honore/Bureau (MSU) 6-3
2: Pschorr/Slezakova (MSU) def. Blanco/Hermanova (WKU) 6-4
3: Martinez/Zegada (WKU) def. Null/Campigotto (MSU) 6-3
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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