Women's Tennis | 10/7/2017 6:01:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – A battle for first place in the Mountain East Conference's women's tennis standings went down to the wire here Saturday afternoon with unbeaten West Virginia State edging West Liberty, 5-4, at the Edgar Martin Tennis Complex.
    Coach Heather Gallagher's Hilltoppers (7-2, 4-1) trailed after doubles play as the 4-time defending MEC champion Yellowjackets (5-0, 5-0) won two of the three doubles matches to take a 2-1 lead into singles action.
    The visitors pulled within a point of victory with two quick wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles but the West Liberty women didn't back down.
    Thais Mendez stopped the bleeding with a 6-0 6-3 sweep at No. 3 singles and a straight-set win from Alaina Pauley at No. 6 singles trimmed the deficit to 4-3.
    Ana Berbel bounced back from a 6-1 loss in the first set of her No. 4 singles match against State's Kayla McKnight to win the next two sets and square the match at 4-4.
    The only match left was the No. 5 singles scrap between WLU's Kate Pinchuk and the Yellowjackets' Nika Tadic. They were still battling after splitting the first two sets but Tadic eventually claimed a 6-3 win in the third and final set to end the match.
    The West Liberty women step out of conference play on Sunday with a trip to Erie, Pa. to take on Mercyhurst in a key Atlantic Region match.
  Laura Isbey (WVS) d. Maurine Oudart, 6-2 6-0
Kierstin Hensley (WVS) d. Laura Huwe, 6-0 6-2
Thais Mendez (WLU) d. Nina Dillwald, 6-0 6-3
Ana Berbel (WLU) d. Kayla McKnight, 1-6 6-4 6-1
Nika Tadic (WVS) d. Kate Pinchuk, 3-6 6-2 6-3
Alaina Pauley (WLU) d. Sidney Miller, 6-3 7-6 (4) Henley/Dillwald (WVS) d. Oudart/Mendez, 8-2
Miller/Isbey (WVS) d. Huwe/Pauley, 8-1
Pinchuk/Berbel (WLU) d. McKnight/Tadic, 8-2