BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Women's Tennis celebrated Senior Day and capped off the regular season with a 4-0 win over Alabama A&M on Thursday at the Warren County Tennis Facility at Michael O. Buchanon Park.
The Lady Toppers finish the regular season with a 15-9 overall record and a 12-6 record at home, which ties the program record for home wins in a season. The 15 overall wins are tied for third-most in a single season in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Singles (Order of finish: 1,5,2)
- 1. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Alicia Owegi (AAMUW) 6-2, 6-0
- 2. Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Valentine Abide Tala (AAMUW) 6-2, 6-3
- 3. Mariana Zegada (WKU) vs. Gabrielle Henderson (AAMUW) 6-1, 3-6, 2-1, unfinished
- 4. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) vs. Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMUW) 6-1, 3-1, unfinished
- 5. Emily Schut (WKU) def. Hanna Negpall (AAMUW) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
- 6. Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) vs. Naomi Blanks (AAMUW) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
Doubles (Order of finish: 2,1)
- 1. Sofia Blanco/Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Yana Dhamija/Alicia Owegi (AAMUW) 6-2
- 2. Emily Schut/Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Gabrielle Henderson/Sofia Sotelo Raya (AAMUW) 6-1
- 3. Sunskrithi Damera/Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) vs. Naomi Blanks/Hanna Negpall (AAMUW) 3-4, unfinished
NOTABLES
- WKU improved to 15-9 overall and 12-6 at home with the win.
- WKU's 15 wins are tied for third-most in a single season in program history. The Lady Toppers also won 15 matches during the 2023 season.
- WKU's 12 home wins are tied for most in a single season in program history. The Lady Toppers also won 12 home matches during the 2022 season.
- The win was the 62nd overall over the last four seasons for WKU, which is the most the program has recorded over a four-year stretch in its history.
- Senior Sofia Blanco now has 108 combined career singles and doubles wins, which is a program record.
- Senior Rachel Hermanova now has 92 combined career singles in doubles wins, which is second-most in program history.
- Senior Mariana Zegada now has 75 combined career singles and doubles wins, which is third-most in program history.
- WKU has won the doubles point in 16 of its 24 matches. The Lady Toppers are 13-3 when winning the doubles point.
- Blanco and Hermanova improved to 14-8 together in doubles this season with the win over Alabama A&M.
- Blanco now has 52 career doubles wins. She trails only Samantha Martinez, who had 56 career doubles wins from 2020-24.
- Hermanova now has 30 career doubles wins, which is eighth-most in program history.
- Zegada and Emily Schut are now 2-1 together in doubles this season. It was the ninth doubles win for Zegada and the 14th for Schut this season.
- Zegada now has 41 career doubles wins, which is third-most in program history.
- The 14 doubles wins for Blanco, Hermanova and Schut this season are eighth-most in a single season in program history.
- Hermanova is now 13-7 in singles this season, all from the No. 1 position. Her 62 career singles wins are a program record.
- Blanco is now 16-6 in singles this season, including a 15-6 record from the No. 2 position. Her 56 career singles wins are second-most in program history, and her 16 wins this season are fifth-most in program history.
- Schut improved to 15-4 in singles this season. Her 15 singles wins are tied for sixth-most in a single season in program history.
- Head Coach Greg Davis is 337-191 all-time as a college head coach, which includes 78 wins with the Lady Toppers. Davis is third on the program's coaching wins list. Davis entered the season ranked 29th in total wins and 36th in winning percentage among active Division I women's tennis head coaches with at least five years as a Division I head coach.
QUOTABLES
- "They've done a tremendous amount of winning on the court and off the court, not only playing well for that period of time over three or four years. They've really helped change the culture here the last three or four years." – WKU Women's Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis, on Senior Day.
- "We've talked about that a lot during the season – momentum and keeping momentum. When we did the schedule, we knew going on the road at Liberty, Middle and the UAB match here, that those three matches in a row were going to be very, very difficult and challenging, but I like how they bounced back the last two matches and have built some momentum going into the conference tournament next week. We'll await the draw on Monday. I'm very proud of the accomplishments of this team. Everybody talked about it being a rebuild year, and to win 15 matches, and I believe that's tied for third all-time in program history, I think it says a lot about the team and what they've been able to accomplish this year." – WKU Women's Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis, on the win over Alabama A&M.
- "It was a bittersweet feeling. It was very emotional, a lot of tears and smiles, but we're just happy to be here and compete, have fun. It was a great match overall. There were a lot of ups and downs. We were just happy to compete one last time at home." – WKU Women's Tennis senior Sofia Blanco, on Senior Day.
- "Deep down, I can't believe it's almost over. I remember my first match and now it's my last one (at home). There are so many emotions. I am super happy that we got the dub and I won, but leaving this place for the last time, it leaves a little bit of sadness." – WKU Women's Tennis senior Rachel Hermanova, on Senior Day.
- "Honestly, I think I still haven't processed it. I can't believe that was it. Four years, four amazing seasons honestly have gone so fast and I have to say that I really enjoyed it." – WKU Women's Tennis senior Mariana Zegada, on Senior Day.
- "I was waiting for this day for so long, but once the day got here, I couldn't take the emotion. I was really, really emotional seeing the whole team. I can't believe we are actually graduating. It's been three years here at WKU and it has flown by. The emotions – I was proud, I was happy, I was sad – there were so many emotions going on. I want to cherish every moment right now." – WKU Women's Tennis graduate student Sunskrithi Damera, on Senior Day.
NEXT UP
- The Lady Toppers will head to Lynchburg, Virginia, for the Conference USA Championship next week. The event is scheduled to be played April 16-19 at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
For all the latest on WKU Women's Tennis, follow @WKUTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
