Women’s Tennis Takes Two of Three on West Coast

Sunday, March 5

San Francisco, Calif.

3 PM

Middle Tennessee

San Francisco

3/10/2017 10:22:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Netters win all three doubles points

By: @MTAthletics

MT at San Francisco Box Score
MT at Fresno State Box Score
MT vs. BYU Box Score
Season Statistics

FRESNO, Calif. – The Middle Tennessee women's tennis team won over San Francisco and BYU in a three-match California swing to put an end to nine consecutive matches away from Murfreesboro.

"This week we gained a lot of confidence by going out there against tough opponents, playing in some tough matches, and winning twice," MT head coach Charlie Ramsay said. "We got the chance to not only compete but spend quality time as a team."

The Blue Raiders notched their fifth win of the season Sunday at San Francisco, taking down the Dons, 4-0.

Sarah Sediri and Luisa Zirilli teamed up to blank their opponents at No. 1 doubles, 6-0, followed by another 6-0 win from Maria Josefina Zehnder and Marta Peris Herrero at No. 3 to clinch the first point of the match.

In singles, Lidia Burrows dominated her opponent to win at the No. 3 spot, 6-1, 6-0. Zehnder won in straight sets at the top spot in the lineup, 6-4, 6-2, while Zirilli clinched the Blue Raiders' win with a score of 6-2, 7-5 on court five.

Against Fresno State on Wednesday, the Blue Raiders suffered a setback to the Bulldogs, 4-2. The first point of the match was awarded to MT after Sediri and Zirilli won again at No. 1 doubles before Zehnder and Herrero again clinched the doubles point by winning, 6-4, at No. 3.

The Bulldogs won at the top spot in straight sets to tie the match at 1-1, but Burrows again earned a win at the third spot, 6-3, 6-1. Fresno State then came back to win at No. 6, 4 and 2 to take the win over the Blue Raiders, 5-2.

On Thursday against BYU, MT again took a 1-0 lead into singles action by winning at the No. 2 and 3 doubles spots.

"It's amazing what winning the doubles point can do for your momentum," Ramsay added. "We saw a lot of good things in doubles this weekend, and we think the combinations are being solidified."

In singles action, the depth of the lineup showed for the Blue Raiders, as Zirilli, Herrero and Sediri all took straight-set wins at No. 4, 5 and 6, respectively. The Cougars earned wins in tight matches in the top half of the singles lineup to make the final score 4-3, giving the Blue Raiders their sixth win of the season.

After the three matches on the west coast this week, the Blue Raiders' extended road trip has concluded, and MT will return to play against Memphis (March 24) and VCU (March 26) at the Adams Tennis Complex.

"We're going to take a little time to rest and rejuvenate before hitting the practice courts hard again," Ramsay said. "We've got to keep gaining confidence. We played well as a team this week, but it's important that we put in some good quality time individually."