NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - In life, you win some and you lose some. But make no mistake, Belmont didn't fall for lack of effort. They played with lion's hearts and came up short to Austin Peay: 5-2.
After falling in two doubles matches, the Bruins stared the 1-0 deficit in the face and knew it was game on. They knew the Govs wouldn't be easy to beat. They are the reigning two-time OVC champions. Even more daunting, the team had gone 16-0 in singles matches over the four-match win streak they brought to Belmont. That seemed to fall on deaf ears as the team challenged Austin Peay every step of the way.
First, Franklin native Somer Henry scared Jana Leder early by taking set one 6-2. While Leder went on to clinch the three-set victory for her fourth win at the second spot, Henry proved that the Govs weren't steamrolling their way to victory again. Still, it wouldn't mean much if Belmont didn't pick up a point.
Enter Anastasiya Zholdakova from stage left onto court four. Her high powered swings overwhelmed Aleks Topalovic. Topalovic was undefeated through three matches as player number four...until "Nastya" turned up the heat. After falling in set one, Zholdakova blasted her way through Topalovic in the last two sets to earn the first point for BU.
Across the path on court one, Gina Feistel was fighting against her toughest foe in conference play. Denise Torrealba had won all four previous matches on court one this spring. After stumbling in set one 6-1, Feistel found her form. Using her broad range and pinpoint corner strikes, Feistel finished off the first loss of Torrealba's spring to clinch point two for Belmont.
At the moment of Feistel's victory, Belmont had climbed back on three other courts to force the tiebreaking third round. Alas, Austin Peay held on and improved to 5-5 with all five earned in the last five matches.
Belmont dropped to 9-6 with a 2-1 OVC mark. Now, they will rest six days before welcoming UT Martin to Nashville on Friday at one p.m.
DOUBLES
H. Nakahashi/D. Torrealba def. G. Feistel/M. Roberts (BU) - 6-3
D. Morris/J. Leder def. S. Henry/P. Lee - 6-3
A. Solomon/A. Zholdakova (BU) vs. Y. Cheng/M. Paladini-Jennings - 4-4, unfinished
SINGLES
Gina Feistel (BU) def. Denise Torrealba - 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
Jana Leder def. Somer Henry (BU) - 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
Martina Paladini-Jennings def. Abi Solomon (BU) - 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Anastasiya Zholdakova (BU) def. Aleks Topalovic - 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Danielle Morris def. Peyton Lee (BU) - 6-3, 6-1
Yu-Hua Cheng def. Meredith Roberts (BU) - 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Follow Belmont Women's Tennis on social media - @BelmontTennis on Twitter and @belmontwomenstennis on Instagram - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
#ItsBruinTime #UnleashTheBeast
