Lady Toppers claim 4-1 road win against UTEP

Published 4:15 pm Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Western Kentucky’s women’s tennis team beat Conference USA foe UTEP 4-1 on Wednesday at the El Paso Tennis Club in El Paso, Texas.

It was the fourth win in a row for the Lady Toppers, who improved to 13-6 overall, 3-1 on the road and 2-1 against CUSA opponents this season with the victory over the Miners (6-5 overall, 0-2 CUSA). The winning streak is the longest this season for WKU.

“Big win on the road,” WKU coach Greg Davis said in a news release. “Very tough conditions. I’m very proud of the team and effort today.”

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WKU’s 13 wins are tied for the ninth-most in a single season in program history. The Lady Toppers are one win from tying the 2024 win total of 14, which was tied for the fourth-most wins in a single season in program history.

WKU senior Sofia Blanco now has 102 combined singles and doubles wins, which is a program record.

Lady Toppers senior Mariana Zegada now has 72 combined singles and doubles wins, which moves her into third place all-time behind teammates Rachel Hermanova (87) and Blanco (102).

WKU has won the doubles point in 14 of its 19 matches. The Lady Toppers are 11-3 when winning the doubles point.

Mia Miranda and Emily Schut are 12-4 in doubles play together this season, including an 8-3 record at the No. 1 position.

Zegada and Sunskrithi Damera are 6-2 together in doubles this season, all from the No. 3 position.

Zegada now has 39 career doubles wins, which is third-most in program history behind Blanco’s 49 and the 56 by Samantha Martinez from 2020-24.

Blanco is 13-4 in singles this season, with a 12-4 record at the No. 2 position. Her 53 career singles wins are second-most in program history behind Hermanova’s 60.

Zegada improved to 10-5 in singles this season with her win on Wednesday. She now has 33 career singles wins, which puts her in sole possession of fifth place on the program’s career singles wins list. She is three from being tied for fourth all-time.

Schut has won her last four matches and is now 13-2 in singles this season, with an 8-1 record at the No. 6 position and a 5-1 record at the No. 5 position.

The 13 singles wins from Blanco and Schut are tied for 12th-most in a single season in program history.

The Lady Toppers are scheduled to return home for their next two matches. WKU is set to face St. Thomas on March 27 and UAB on March 29. Both matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. starts at Kereiakes Park.

Singles (Order of finish: 2,6,4,5)

1. Carlotta Mencaglia (UTEP) vs. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 7-6 (7-3), 3-3, unfinished

2. Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Candice Bernier (UTEP) 3-1, retired

3. Hanna Telzynska (UTEP) vs. Mia Miranda (WKU) 6-4, 3-4, unfinished

4. Paloma Hennicaux (UTEP) def. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-1, 6-1

5. Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Valeria Carreno (UTEP) 6-2, 6-4

6. Emily Schut (WKU) def. DeCora Antoine (UTEP) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles (Order of finish: 3,1)

1. Mia Miranda/Emily Schut (WKU) def. Carlotta Mencaglia/Hanna Telzynska (UTEP) 6-0

2. Candice Bernier/Valeria Carreno (UTEP) vs. Sofia Blanco/Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 2-5, unfinished

3. Sunskrithi Damera/Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. Paloma Hennicaux/DeCora Antoine (UTEP) 6-1