Women's Tennis to Play in Four Finals Sunday at the Redbird Invitational

NORMAL, Ill. – Four Belmont University women's tennis players will play for individual titles at Illinois State's Redbird Invitational Sunday after the Bruins won four semifinal matches Saturday at the Gregory Street Tennis Courts in Normal, Illinois. The doubles tandems of redshirt freshman Savannah Webster and sophomore Jessica Popiol and freshman Mia Jones and graduate Cielo Tapia-Cruz earned semifinal victories in the top two doubles flights, while Jones and Tapia-Cruz were also triumphant in their semifinal matches in the No. 3 and No. 4 singles flights.
 
Webster and Popiol downed Bradley's Valeriia Ivanovskaia and Compassion Tsai 8-6 in the top doubles flight as Jones and Tapia-Cruz handled the Braves' Mariia Pukhina and Anna Belogliadova 8-5 in the second doubles flight.
 
In the third singles flight, Jones gave up only three games to Murray State's Sofia Issakova in a 6-3, 6-0 win. Likewise, Tapia-Cruz conceded only three games in her No. 4 singles flight semifinal victory over Valparaiso's Alexandra Popa (6-2, 6-1).
 
Belmont took four of eight singles matches on day two of the Redbird Invitational with Webster and junior Emma Grant claiming convincing straight-set wins in consolation brackets. Webster defeated Drake's Maja Dodik in the top singles flight's back draw semifinals, while Grant collected a double bagel against Northern Iowa's Alyssa Meeky in the No. 7 singles flight consolation semis.
 
In the second singles flight semifinals, Popiol went to three sets with her former teammate, the Bulldogs' Shiori Takeda, but dropped the decisive third set, 6-4.
 
The Bruins' complete results from Saturday's matches can be found below.
 
Sunday's finals and remaining consolation matches will conclude the three-day Redbird Invitational.
 
Redbird Invitational – Saturday Results
 
Doubles
Flight #1 SF - Savannah Webster/Jessica Popiol (Belmont) def. Valeriia Ivanovskaia/Compassion Tsai (Bradley), 8-6
Flight #2 SF - Mia Jones/Cielo Tapia-Cruz (Belmont) def. Mariia Pukhina/Anna Belogliadova (Bradley), 8-5
Flight #3 SF - Charlotte Deletioglu/Joanne Hartono (UIC) def. Ketevan Jeladze/Libbie Hamilton (Belmont), 8-2
Flight #4 3rd Place - Jolene Fernandes/Ana Baron (Valparaiso) def. Emma Grant/Annika Warkentin (Belmont), 8-7 (6)
 
Singles
Flight #1 CSF - Savannah Webster (Belmont) def. Maja Dodik (Drake), 6-2, 6-0
Flight #2 SF - Shiori Takeda (Drake) def. Jessica Popiol (Belmont), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Flight #3 SF - Mia Jones (Belmont) def. Sofia Issakova (Murray State), 6-3, 6-0
Flight #4 SF - Cielo Tapia-Cruz (Belmont) def. Alexandra Popa (Valparaiso), 6-2, 6-1
Flight #5 SF – Ruby Tseng (Bradley) def. Ketevan Jeladze (Belmont), 6-4, 6-1
Flight #6 SF - Barbora Hermanova (Murray State) def. Libbie Hamilton (Belmont), 7-6 (4), 6-3
Flight #7 CSF - Emma Grant (Belmont) def. Alyssa Meeky (UNI), 6-0, 6-0
Flight #7 CSF - Molly Null (Murray State) def. Annika Warkentin (Belmont), 6-2, 6-2
 
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