Women's Tennis Drops Tightly-Contested Match at WKU Saturday Afternoon

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Returning to play on the road, the Belmont University women's tennis team was barely defeated 4-3 by Western Kentucky Saturday afternoon at the Warren County Tennis Facility at Michael O. Buchanon Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Despite taking the all-important doubles point, the Bruins (6-5) were unable to secure a third singles win as the host Lady Toppers (6-5) won four of the six singles matches.
 
The top doubles tandem of sophomore Mariia Hlahola and junior Anastasiya Zholdakova clinched the doubles point against Western Kentucky's Paola Cortez and Anna-Marie Kopecka with a thrilling 10-8 victory in a tiebreaker. The point-clinching triumph came on the heels of junior Viktoria Kliimand and freshman Vesa Gjinaj taking out the Lady Toppers' Sofia Blanco and Sayda Hernandez 7-5 at No. 2 doubles.
 
Western Kentucky earned the first doubles win of the afternoon with a 6-2 set at No. 3 doubles.
 
In singles action, Hlahola wasted little time in dismissing Cortez at the top spot with a straight-set, 6-3, 6-2, victory. On court two, Gjinaj was also victorious in straight sets where she topped the Lady Toppers' Rachel Hermanova 6-3, 7-5.
 
After Western Kentucky won straight-set matches at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, the match came down to courts three and five.
 
Freshman Hana Sokolovic attempted to come back from a 6-0 opening set loss against the Lady Toppers' Kopecka but couldn't continue her momentum from a 6-3 set two win. Kopecka evened the overall match score at 3-3 with a 6-1 win in the deciding third set.
 
Zholdakova took the first set, 6-2, against Western Kentucky's Blanco before Blanco knotted things at a set apiece with a 7-5 second set. In the decisive third set to determine the final outcome, Zholdakova and Blanco competed to a tiebreaker. However, Banco prevailed 7-5 in the tiebreak.
 
Up Next
Belmont heads to the Sunshine State next week for a Wednesday morning match at Florida Gulf Coast. First serve from the FGCU Tennis Complex in Fort Myers, Florida, is slated for 9 a.m.
 
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