Women’s tennis splits a pair of C-USA matches

Friday, April 6

Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Adams Tennis Complex

2 PM

Middle Tennessee

No. 41 FIU

4/7/2018 6:04:00 PM | Women's Tennis

MT falls to No. 41 FIU but wins over Marshall

By: @MTAthletics

MT vs. No. 41 FIU results
MT vs. Marshall results
Season Statistics

MURFREESBORO, Tenn.– After a competitive battle against No. 41 FIU on Friday, Middle Tennessee's women's tennis team rebounded with a 4-3 victory over Marshall on Saturday to move the Blue Raiders' record to 15-7.

The Panthers won over MT, 4-1, and won the first point in the match by claiming doubles wins on courts one and two. The top doubles pair for the Blue Raiders fell by a narrow margin, 6-4, and Maria Josefina Zehnder and Costanza Magazzini were trailing, 4-5, but were unable to finish their match.

Luisa Zirilli tied the match at one point apiece with a straight-set win at No. 6 singles, and the rest of the matches advanced to a third set. Zehnder and Lee Barnard were unable to finish their matches on courts two and four. Magazzini also had an impressive performance at the top singles spot, taking the No. 5-ranked singles player in the country to a third set by winning a second set tiebreak.

Against Marshall on Saturday, the Blue Raiders took the first point in the match in dramatic fashion. Lee and Zani Barnard dominated at No. 3 for a 6-0 win to start doubles, but the Herd won at the top doubles spot, 6-2. Zehnder and Magazzini were down 1-5 at one point at No. 2 but won six games in a row to clinch the doubles point with a 7-5 score.

In singles, Lidia Burrows and Zirilli cruised to wins at the bottom of the singles lineup, making the score 3-0, Blue Raiders. Lee Barnard clinched MT's 15th win of the season with a score of 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4. After MT clinched the match, Marshall won at No. 1, 2 and 3 to make the final score, 4-3.

Next on the schedule for MT is a pair of matches at the Adams Tennis Complex next weekend to wrap up the regular season. The Blue Raiders take on South Alabama at 2 p.m. Friday before the regular season finale against Xavier at noon on Sunday.