Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Sunday, January 29
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
11 AM
Middle Tennessee
4
vs
2
Bellarmine
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
1234
Lailaa Bashir / 0 [BELL]
642UF
362UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Ekaterina Tikhonko / 0 [BELL]
66
23
#3 Singles Match
123
Vendula Kryslova / 0 [BELL]
640
466
#4 Singles Match
123
Shu Grosso / 0 [BELL]
630
466
#5 Singles Match
12
Hanley Riner / 0 [BELL]
00
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Channing Varnum / 0 [BELL]
12
66
Order of Finish:
5,6,2,3,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Photo by: Maya Lewis/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raider women’s tennis extends winning streak to three in a row with 4-2 win over Bellarmine
1/29/2023 2:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —The fruits of Middle Tennessee's women's tennis teams' veteran leadership are starting to pay off early this year, as the Blue Raiders fought back to swing the momentum in their favor in a 4-2 win over the Bellarmine Knights to extend the Blue Raiders winning streak to three matches in a row.
Now halfway through a six-match homestretch, Middle Tennessee earned a hard-fought win as junior Lilly-Sophie Schmidt clinched the match point with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Shu Grosso on court four.
Both one and three doubles finished nearly simultaneously, with Bellarmine taking the match on court one 6-1 and MTSU's Lilly-Sophie Schmidt and Muskan Gupta winning 6-1 on court three just a few seconds later to set up a clincher on court two in which the Knights would claim the doubles point with a 6-4 win.
After falling in a tough match in the second doubles group, Noelle Mauro rebounded with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Hanley Riner to knot the overall match up at 1-1 for the Blue Raiders. Freshman Ratuja Chaphalkar defeated Bellarmine senior Channing Varnum 6-2, 6-2 over on court six to give the Blue Raiders a 2-1 lead shortly before Bellarmine tied the match with a victory on court two.
Upperclassmen Lilly-Sophie Schmidt, Love-Star Alexis and Muskan Gupta all fought back to force a third set in which Gupta and Schmidt won in convincing fashion to clinch the match for the Blue Raiders.
With the match tied after both dropped their first set 4-6, Gupta won her second and third sets 6-4, 6-0 to set up Lilly-Sophie Schmidt's third clincher of the year to give MTSU the 4-2 win.
Head Coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall
On the three-match win streak, and winning tough matches early in the year: "It's important. We've got some great teams coming up here the next few weeks, as well. Next week, we have Chattanooga coming up here and we lost to them 4-3 last year in a tough match that was gritty. Today we had another tough match that we gritted through and fought through every point because the momentum was shifting. That's key to help us believe in ourselves later on this season when it happens again."
On the added element having veteran leadership brings to this year's team: "I said to the team that there's a few things different this season than in past years. One of those things is we're making more balls in the court and that the other is that we pulled away in the third sets because we're more experienced and we're an older team. To pull away and get to 6-0 so quickly in the third set for Muskan, who's had a few tough matches, to get that momentum and keep it is something we really talked to her about. The knowledge and experience of our team was key in today's win."
Player's Perspective: Senior Muskan Gupta
On how her dominant turnaround: "I lost my last two matches, which of course doesn't matter too much too me because I've been in spots like that before being a senior, but it's a huge boost going into next week. It tells me that even if I lose in my first set, I can always come back and win."
On being a part of an important group of veteran leaders: "I really think with all of us seniors playing on the same side of the courts at the (Adams Tennis Complex) it really makes a huge difference. We can always look at each other and smile when we're down and pick each other up. (Love-Star Alexis) and I were both down in our second set today and we looked at each other and smiled and knew we were going to win this match."
Doubles
1. Ekaterina Tikhonko/Lailaa Bashir (Bellarmine) def. Love-Star Alexis/Rutuja Chaphalkar (MTSU) 6-1
2. Vendula Kryslova/Shu Grosso (Bellarmine) def. Noelle Mauro/ Eloise Swarbrick (Bellarmine) 6-4
3. Lilly-Sophie Schmidt/Muskan Gupta (MTSU) def. Hanley Riner/Channing Varnum (Bellarmine) 6-1
Order of finish: (1,3,2)
Singles
1. Love-Star Alexis (MTSU) vs. Lailaa Bashir (Bellarmine) 3-6, 6-4, 2-2 (unf.)
2. Ekaterina Tikhonko (Bellarmine) def. Sana Garakani (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3 (3)
3. Muskan Gupta (MTSU) def. Vendula Kryslova (Bellarmine) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 (4)
4. Lilly-Sophie Schmidt (MTSU) def. Shu Grosso (Bellarmine) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 (5)
5. Noelle Mauro (MTSU) def. Hanley Riner (Bellarmine) 6-0, 6-0 (1)
6. Rutuja Chaphalkar (MTSU) def. Channing Varnum (Bellarmine) 6-2, 6-2 (2)
Order of finish: (5,6,2,3,4)
UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders will take on UT-Chattanooga this Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Adams Tennis Complex.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Be sure to follow @MT_WomensTennis on Twitter, @mt_womenstennis on Instagram, and Blue Raider Women's Tennis on Facebook for news and updates regarding everything Blue Raider women's tennis.
Print Friendly Version
Now halfway through a six-match homestretch, Middle Tennessee earned a hard-fought win as junior Lilly-Sophie Schmidt clinched the match point with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Shu Grosso on court four.
Both one and three doubles finished nearly simultaneously, with Bellarmine taking the match on court one 6-1 and MTSU's Lilly-Sophie Schmidt and Muskan Gupta winning 6-1 on court three just a few seconds later to set up a clincher on court two in which the Knights would claim the doubles point with a 6-4 win.
After falling in a tough match in the second doubles group, Noelle Mauro rebounded with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 win over Hanley Riner to knot the overall match up at 1-1 for the Blue Raiders. Freshman Ratuja Chaphalkar defeated Bellarmine senior Channing Varnum 6-2, 6-2 over on court six to give the Blue Raiders a 2-1 lead shortly before Bellarmine tied the match with a victory on court two.
Upperclassmen Lilly-Sophie Schmidt, Love-Star Alexis and Muskan Gupta all fought back to force a third set in which Gupta and Schmidt won in convincing fashion to clinch the match for the Blue Raiders.
With the match tied after both dropped their first set 4-6, Gupta won her second and third sets 6-4, 6-0 to set up Lilly-Sophie Schmidt's third clincher of the year to give MTSU the 4-2 win.
Head Coach Tayo Bailey-Duvall
On the three-match win streak, and winning tough matches early in the year: "It's important. We've got some great teams coming up here the next few weeks, as well. Next week, we have Chattanooga coming up here and we lost to them 4-3 last year in a tough match that was gritty. Today we had another tough match that we gritted through and fought through every point because the momentum was shifting. That's key to help us believe in ourselves later on this season when it happens again."
On the added element having veteran leadership brings to this year's team: "I said to the team that there's a few things different this season than in past years. One of those things is we're making more balls in the court and that the other is that we pulled away in the third sets because we're more experienced and we're an older team. To pull away and get to 6-0 so quickly in the third set for Muskan, who's had a few tough matches, to get that momentum and keep it is something we really talked to her about. The knowledge and experience of our team was key in today's win."
Player's Perspective: Senior Muskan Gupta
On how her dominant turnaround: "I lost my last two matches, which of course doesn't matter too much too me because I've been in spots like that before being a senior, but it's a huge boost going into next week. It tells me that even if I lose in my first set, I can always come back and win."
On being a part of an important group of veteran leaders: "I really think with all of us seniors playing on the same side of the courts at the (Adams Tennis Complex) it really makes a huge difference. We can always look at each other and smile when we're down and pick each other up. (Love-Star Alexis) and I were both down in our second set today and we looked at each other and smiled and knew we were going to win this match."
Doubles
1. Ekaterina Tikhonko/Lailaa Bashir (Bellarmine) def. Love-Star Alexis/Rutuja Chaphalkar (MTSU) 6-1
2. Vendula Kryslova/Shu Grosso (Bellarmine) def. Noelle Mauro/ Eloise Swarbrick (Bellarmine) 6-4
3. Lilly-Sophie Schmidt/Muskan Gupta (MTSU) def. Hanley Riner/Channing Varnum (Bellarmine) 6-1
Order of finish: (1,3,2)
Singles
1. Love-Star Alexis (MTSU) vs. Lailaa Bashir (Bellarmine) 3-6, 6-4, 2-2 (unf.)
2. Ekaterina Tikhonko (Bellarmine) def. Sana Garakani (MTSU) 6-2, 6-3 (3)
3. Muskan Gupta (MTSU) def. Vendula Kryslova (Bellarmine) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 (4)
4. Lilly-Sophie Schmidt (MTSU) def. Shu Grosso (Bellarmine) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 (5)
5. Noelle Mauro (MTSU) def. Hanley Riner (Bellarmine) 6-0, 6-0 (1)
6. Rutuja Chaphalkar (MTSU) def. Channing Varnum (Bellarmine) 6-2, 6-2 (2)
Order of finish: (5,6,2,3,4)
UP NEXT
The Blue Raiders will take on UT-Chattanooga this Friday at 1:00 p.m. at the Adams Tennis Complex.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Be sure to follow @MT_WomensTennis on Twitter, @mt_womenstennis on Instagram, and Blue Raider Women's Tennis on Facebook for news and updates regarding everything Blue Raider women's tennis.
Print Friendly Version
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