Singles wins carry Blue Raider women's tennis to match victory

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Middle Tennessee women's tennis rallied after dropping the doubles point by winning five of the six singles matches to clinch a 5-2 Sun Belt Conference triumph at UALR Sunday morning in Little Rock, Ark.

"We played a very tough match today against a good UALR team," assistant coach Melissa Schaub said. "We fought through adversity in the beginning of the match and played extremely well to finish. Our players have worked so hard over the last year and it is all paying off."

The singles domination resulted in three-straight set victories and two in which the Blue Raiders had to come-from-behind for the win.

Carla Nava bounced back from her first loss of the season at the No. 1 spot to claim a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Anne Weijenborg. Marietta Bigus, who clinched Friday's win at Arkansas State, stayed perfect through the weekend with a 7-5, 6-4 decision against Nathalia Garay at the No. 5 position.

The last straight-set singles win for Middle Tennessee (5-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) came at No. 6, where Taylor Coffey defeated Rebecca Van Den Houte 6-3, 6-4.

Seniors Natalie Araya and Anna Djananova both trailed after their respective first sets before mounting comeback wins. Araya pulled out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Yana Kakovkina, while Djananova knocked off Fanny Lopez 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

"Overall, it was a really good day," said Djananova. "We came back and fought hard to get the win. Our energy and intensity during doubles was a little comfortable but we rebounded to play well in singles.

"It was just a matter of regrouping and we had to be prepared to be out there a long time. We all fought hard and got the job done."

In doubles action, the Blue Raiders were able to only earn one win in dropping the point to UALR (5-5, 0-1 Sun Belt). Middle Tennessee's lone victory was at the No. 2 slot with Djananova and Yuiri Nomoto picking up an 8-2 victory against Garay and Lopez.

The Blue Raiders will return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday when they play host to Marshall at the Nashboro Village Indoor Courts in Nashville, Tenn.

Middle Tennessee 5, UALR 2

Singles
No. 1 Carla Nava (MT) def. Anne Weijenborg (UALR) 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 Natalie Araya (MT) def. Yana Kakovkina (UALR) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 Veronique Luksich (UALR) def. Yuiri Nomoto (MT) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 Anna Djananova (MT) def. Fanny Lopez (UALR) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 Marietta Bigus (MT) def. Nathalia Garay (UALR) 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 Taylor Coffey (MT) def. Rebecca Van Den Houte (UALR) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 Kakovkina/Weijenborg (UALR) def. Araya/Bigus (MT) 9-8 (2)
No. 2 Djananova/Nomoto (MT) def. Garay/Lopez (UALR) 8-2
No. 3 Luksich/Van Den Houte (UALR) def. Coffey/Alex Dachos (MT) 8-3

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