Road swing comes to a close with Middle Tennessee victory

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee women’s tennis team put a cap on its seven-match spring opening road swing with a 6-1 victory over UT-Martin Sunday afternoon in neutral-site action in Memphis, Tenn.

The Blue Raiders started the day by earning the doubles point and then collecting wins in five of the six singles contests to garner the victory.

All three doubles meetings were heavily contested but Middle Tennessee (4-3) was able to pick up triumphs at the No. 1 and 3 slots to take the early 1-0 advantage.

The Blue Raider pairing of senior Marietta Bigus and junior Lexi Brand held off a strong challenge from the Skyhawks’ Anna Marie Herbold and Alice Laing to post a 9-7 win at the top position. The point then fell into MT’s favor with an 8-6 triumph at the No. 3 slot, as seniors Taylor Coffey and Alex Dachos combined for the decision over Katie McCall and Johanie Van Zyl.

Middle Tennessee kept the momentum going strong in singles play, registering four straight-set victories against UT-Martin (1-3) to clinch the win.

Junior Yuiri Nomoto rebounded from dropping the first set in the No. 1 match against Jodie Tiley to notch a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory in the only three-set Blue Raider triumph of the afternoon.

Brand handed Van Zyl a 6-4, 6-3 setback in the No. 2 meeting, while Coffey tallied a 6-0, 7-5 decision against Laing in the No. 6 matchup.

Freshman Nayara Moraes and Bigus each defeated their respective opponents, Anna Winkelmann and Herbold at the No. 4 and 5 slots, by identical 6-3, 6-3 scores.

Middle Tennessee will now return to action when it plays host to Chattanooga at 2 p.m. Thursday in its first home match of the spring campaign. The contest is slated to be played at the on-campus Buck Bouldin Tennis Center and admission is free.

Middle Tennessee 6, UT-Martin 1

Singles
No. 1 Yuiri Nomoto (MT) def. Jodie Tiley (UTM) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Lexi Brand (MT) def. Johanie Van Zyl (UTM) 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 Ivon Simic (UTM) def. Flavia Nagayama (MT) 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Nayara Moraes (MT) def. Anna Winkelmann (UTM) 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Marietta Bigus (MT) def. Anna Marie Herbold (UTM) 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 Taylor Coffey (MT) def. Alice Laing (UTM) 6-0, 7-5

Doubles
No. 1 Bigus/Brand (MT) def. Herbold/Laing (UTM) 9-7
No. 2 Simic/Tiley (UTM) def. Moraes/Nomoto (MT) 8-3
No. 3 Coffey/Alex Dachos (MT) def. Katie McCall/Van Zyl (UTM) 8-6

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.