BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Although WKU Tennis won the opening doubles point against undefeated FIU, the Lady Toppers dropped five of the following singles matches in a 5-2 loss to the Panthers on Saturday afternoon. It was the team’s first home match at the WKU Tennis Complex since April 6, 2019.
Laura Bernardos posted her fifth straight singles victory, improving to 7-5 overall on the season and a perfect 3-0 against Conference USA opponents. All of her singles matches have been at the No. 2 position.
With the team loss, the Lady Toppers fell to 2-10 on the season, while the visiting Panthers improved to 6-0.
“We played well today against a top 3-or-4 team in the conference but came up a bit short,” head coach Greg Davis said. “We had a big improvement from yesterday and really played well in doubles and had another great win by Laura, but we need to find some more wins at the other positions.”
On a picturesque, mid-60 degree day without a cloud in the sky, WKU claimed the opening doubles point. After FIU won at No. 3 by a score of 6-3, the Lady Toppers responded with a 6-4 win from Bernardos and her partner Samantha Martinez at the No. 2 spot. With the first two results knotted, the duo of Lisa Friess and Cora-Lynn von Dungern outlasted their opponents at the No. 1 position by a score of 7-5 to claim the opening point for the home team.
Bernardos and Martinez improved to 6-2 together at the No. 2 position, including a perfect 3-0 mark against C-USA teams. Meanwhile, Friess and von Dungern improved to 6-5 overall this season – all at the No. 1 spot – including a 2-1 record in league play.
After the Panthers claimed the first four singles results to clinch the team match and take a 4-0 lead, Bernardos defeated her opponent 6-4, 6-1 in straight sets. To wrap play on the day, FIU won at the No. 1 spot in two sets and at the No. 6 position in a third-set tiebreaker for the final 5-2 score.
Davis added, “We seem to struggle as a team in the first set and getting off to a good start. Today we lost 5-of-6 first sets, so that’s one area I think we can – and will – improve on in the coming weeks.”
WKU’s next competition will be on Friday, March 26 at Butler, then the Lady Toppers will return home for another match at the WKU Tennis Complex on Saturday, March 27 against another C-USA foe in UAB.
Final Results
Singles (Order of finish: 4,3,5,2,1,6)
1: Kamila Umarova (FIU) def. Cora-Lynn von Dungern (WKU) 6-2, 6-4
2: Laura Bernardos (WKU) def. Basak Akbas (FIU) 6-4, 6-1
3: Marina Alcaide (FIU) def. Lauren Joch (WKU) 6-3, 6-1
4: Andjela Skrobonja (FIU) def. Tristen Bryant-Otake (WKU) 6-4, 6-3
5: Andreea Velcea (FIU) def. Lisa Friess (WKU) 6-4, 6-2
6: Francisca Vergara (FIU) def. Alexis Cramer (WKU) 6-2, 4-6, 10-4
Doubles (Order of finish 3,2,1)
1: Friess/von Dungern (WKU) def. Akbas/Umarova (FIU) 7-5
2: Bernardos/Martinez (WKU) def. Alcaide/Miletic (FIU) 6-4
3: Skrobonja/Velcea (FIU) def. Bryant-Otake/Joch (WKU) 6-3