WKU Tennis earns first ever win over a ranked opponent

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - WKU Tennis continued its 2023 season on Sunday beating No. 69 North Texas for the program’s first ever win against a ranked opponent, 4-1, in San Antonio, Texas. The Lady Toppers improve to 10-6 on the year, while the Mean Green move to 9-7.

The Lady Toppers won the doubles point for the third consecutive match winning at No. 2 and No. 3. Samantha Martinez and Mariana Zegada won on court two, 6-3, after the Mean Green defaulted on court three to earn the point.

After North Texas defaulted on courts five and six, the Lady Toppers just needed one point to secure the win and they got it with Rachel Hermanova. The sophomore won back-to-back tiebreaker sets to give her the 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4) win. She gets her, team-leading, 13th win of the season and her 32nd of her career. That ties her for third all-time with Olga Kosaka (2001-04) just four wins shy of being tied for second.

“I thought we played and competed about as good as we could today in 85-degree heat and 25 mph wind gusts,” said head coach Greg Davis. “This was our first outside match of the year and I am very happy for the players and program.”

WKU will continue play tomorrow, March 13 with another road C-USA match against UTSA at 1 p.m. CT in San Antonio, Texas.

Final Results

Singles (Order of finish: 6,5,2,3)

1. Matilde Morais (UNT) vs. Paola Cortez (WKU) 6-4, 1-6, 2-3, unfinished

2. Kexuan Zhou (UNT) def. Sayda Hernandez (WKU) 6-4, 6-4

3. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Nformi Stadfany (UNT) 7-6, 7-6

4. Marina Adati (UNT) vs. Sofia Blanco (WKU) 4-6, 5-6, unfinished

5. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. No player (UNT), by default

6. Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. No player (UNT), by default

Doubles (Order of finish: 3,1,2)

1. Morais/Stadfany (UNT) def. Cortez/Hernandez (WKU) 6-3

2. Martinez/Zegada (WKU) def. Adati/Zhou (UNT) 6-3