Women's Tennis | 10/22/2011 8:07:00 PM
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Liberty University women's tennis team settled for runner-up laurels in the 2011 West Virginia Conference Tennis Championships on Saturday afternoon, dropping a hard-fought 5-1 decision to top-seeded Charleston in the championship match at the Watt Powell Tennis Complex.
Coach
Heather Gallagher's Hilltoppers gave UC more than a few nervous moments on Saturday as Charleston opened with a quick win at No. 3 doubles only to see the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches go right down to the wire.
The match turned in the Golden Eagles' favor when UC's No. 1 doubles tandem of Laura Smith and Marcela Torres edged the West Liberty duo of
Lauren Howard and
Raissa Wischi, 8-6, in a battle of All-WVIAC selections.
The Hilltoppers' No. 2 doubles pairing of
Emma Windsor and
Alex Barr kept the Black and Gold in the hunt by outlasting Charleston's Sarah Monsheimer and Kelsey Hensley, 9-8, in a marathon match that went to a tiebreaker.
The Golden Eagles' depth came through in the singles competition as West Liberty's three All-WVIAC players all had their matches halted without a decision once UC had picked up the final three wins it needed by sweeping the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 singles in straight sets.
The tourney title completed a perfect run for the champion Golden Eagles, who didn't lose a WVIAC regular-season or tournament match in claiming the league's automatic bid to next spring's NCAA Division II regional.
The Hilltoppers, who entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed, put themselves in good position to earn a second consecutive at-large invitation to post-season play with their impressive WVIAC tourney showing.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
WVIAC Tournament
Championship Match
Charleston 5, West Liberty 1
Doubles
Singles
No. 4 Kelsey Hensley (UC) d.
Alex Barr (WLU) 6-0, 6-4
