WKU Tennis starts season 3-0 after sweeping doubleheader against Lipscomb and UT Martin

Allie Hendricks

WKU junior Cora-Lynn Von Dungern volleys the ball back to a Lipscomb tennis player during the tennis match against Lipscomb University at the Michael O. Buchanon tennis facility on Jan. 30, 2022. The Hilltoppers won 4-3, starting off their season off with 2 wins and 0 losses.

Izzy Lanuza, Sports Reporter

WKU Tennis swept its doubleheader on Sunday against the Lipscomb Bisons with a 4-3 victory and the UT Martin Skyhawks, winning 4-0. 

Lipscomb

The Lady Toppers won the first point in doubles against Lipscomb to start the day. The No. 1 duo of junior Paola Cortez and fifth-year senior Cora-Lynn von Dundern, and the No. 3 pair of freshman Sofia Blanco and freshman Mariana Zegada dominated with a 6-2 victory, taking the opening point. 

WKU’s success continued into its singles play with two consecutive wins. Cortez won 6-2 while fifth-year senior Laura Bernardos shutout her matchup 6-0. 

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Freshman Rachel Hermanova clinched the match for the Lady Toppers after the Bison cut the match to 3-1 with wins of 7-6 and 6-2. The last two singles matches were played out with Lipscomb taking both. WKU finished its first matchup of the day with a 4-3 win 

“[I’m] really proud of this team. We have all had great respect for Lipscomb, and they have had our number for the past three years,” WKU head coach Greg Davis said in a release. “Laura and Paola played exceptional in singles today, as well as freshman Rachel Hermanova, who clinched the match at five.”

UT Martin

Blanco and Zegada started the doubles match off strong with a 6-2 win for the Lady Toppers over the Skyhawks. The No.1 pair of Cortez and von Dungern secured the doubles point.  

Just like before, WKU’s success continued into the singles play. The Lady Toppers only needed to win three matches to secure their victory against the Skyhawks, and they did just that. 

Cora-Lynn von Dungern won 6-4 and 6–3 at the No. 1 spot. Hermanova bested her singles matchup with wins of 6-1 and 6-3. Junior Alexis Cramer won with scores of 6-3 and 6-2 in the No. 6 spot, ending the match with a 4-0 win against the Skyhawks.

“We were able to finish off the day 2-0 after some very strong singles play at one, five and six,” Davis said. “I thought winning the doubles points were very pivotal in today’s victories.” 

The Lady Toppers will stay in Bowling Green this weekend with their matchups against Austin Peay and IUPUI. 

“We wanted to get everyone some match play, and we were able to be successful doing that today,” Davis said. “We are happy to be 3-0. But we have a great deal of work ahead this week to get ready for Austin Peay on Saturday.”

Sports Reporter Izzy Lanuza can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @izzylanuza.