KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Sophomore Taylor Coffey posted Middle Tennessee's lone singles win, while senior Natalie Araya and sophomore Anna Djananova captured a doubles triumph as the Blue Raider women's tennis team opened play Friday at the St. Mary's Tournament hosted by Tennessee at the Varsity Tennis Courts in Knoxville, Tenn.
Coffey handed Vanderbilt's Megan Gornet a 6-2, 6-4 defeat in flight six for the only MT singles victory. Sophomores Carla Nava and Marietta Bigus fought hard in their respective matches before dropping three-set decisions.
"Overall, we had a really good day today," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "We got off to a great start, which is something we have been working on. Marietta had a well fought match against her opponent from Tennessee. Yuiri (Nomoto) also had a hard-fought singles match and really made her opponent work hard for the second set."
Nomoto competed in the highest flight for the Blue Raiders, at No. 3, and battled against her foe from Vanderbilt.
In doubles action, Araya and Djananova knocked off ETSU's Tara Sheets and Diana Navrostska, 8-4 in flight three. Nomoto paired with Tennessee's Maria Sorbello to earn a 9-7 victory against ETSU's Paula Jaime and Karina Kedzo during flight two play.
"Natalie and Anna played really well to beat ETSU's team. I am really excited about the next couple of days' matches. We are doing a great job implementing our practices during tournament play, which is exciting."
Scoring for the tournament is based on a 6-5-4-3-2-1 format for singles with the most points going to first flight winners and the fewest to the sixth flight victors. Points for doubles will be 3-2-1 based upon which flight the team is in as well. If players from two squads join to form a winning doubles team, the respective individuals will split the points. Upon the conclusion of the tournament, the top three individuals will be crowned.
The St. Mary's Tournament will continue Saturday and Sunday.
Middle Tennessee Women's Tennis Results:
Singles:
Flight Three:
Keilly Ulery (VAN) def. Yuiri Nomoto (MT) 6-0, 6-4
Flight Four:
Zsofia Zubor (TENN) def. Marietta Bigus (MT) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
Flight Five:
Hannah Blatt (VAN) def. Carla Nava (MT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Flight Six:
Taylor Coffey (MT) def. Megan Gornet (VAN) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles:
Flight Two:
Yuiri Nomoto (MT)/Maria Sorbello (TENN) def. Paula Jamie/Karina Kedzo (ETSU) 9-7
Flight Three:
Natalie Araya/Anna Djananova (MT) def. Tara Sheets/Diana Navrostska (ETSU) 8-4
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