MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University tennis team lost to Tulsa, 4-3, in the semifinal round of the 2024 UTR Sports NIT Championship at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, on Tuesday.
West Virginia (15-13) rolled through doubles play as it earned the point to lead, 1-0. The pairing of junior
Michaela Kucharova and senior
Momoko Nagato was impressive in the No. 1 spot as they defeated Tulsa's Lily Hutchings and Maria Berlanga, 6-4.
The doubles team comprised of junior
Tatiana Lipatova and graduate student
Love-Star Alexis won in the No. 3 seed match, 6-4, as WVU took the doubles point.
The Mountaineers began singles play with Chang winning the No. 6 seed match, 6-3, 6-0. Tulsa won the No. 1 seed and No. 2 seed matches to tie the match at 2-2.
West Virginia regained the lead after Lipatova rallied in the No. 5 spot, defeating Tulsa's Erin McKenzie, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1. Tulsa answered in the No. 3 seed match as the Golden Hurricanes took the match, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
In the final singles match of the night, redshirt sophomore
Maja Dodik battled with Tulsa's Ana Naranjo Martinez in an exhilarating match. Dodik took the first set, 6-3, but she could not lock up the win as she lost the second set, 7-5.
In the final set, Dodik rallied from a 5-2 deficit as she won two straight games to only trail by one. However, Dodik could not complete the comeback as she fell, 6-4, in the final set.
Doubles Results
Singles Results
- Maria Berlanga (TULSA) def. Love-Star Alexis (WVU), 6-3, 7-6 (1)
- Oleksandra Nahurska (TULSA) def. Momoko Nagato (WVU), 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Lily Hutchings (TULSA) def. Michaela Kucharova (WVU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Ana Naranjo Martinez (TULSA) def. Maja Dodik (WVU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
- Tatiana Lipatova (WVU) def. Erin McKenzie (TULSA), 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
- Ting-Pei Chang (WVU) def. Tayla Wilmot (TULSA), 6-3, 6-0
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit
WVUsports.com and follow WVUTennis on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
