Western Kentucky’s women’s tennis team earned its first win of the season on Friday, taking down Northern Kentucky 6-1 at the Warren County Tennis Facility at Michael O. Buchanon Park.

The Lady Toppers swept doubles play, before picking up singles wins from Isabelle Einess, Andra Sirbu, Barbara Olvera, Virginia Madueño and Ariadna Fernandez to improve to 1-3 overall and 1-1 at home this season.

“I think (the key) was the team aspect – just cheering everyone on and making sure we were all there for each other,” Einess said in a news release. “Cheering at the right times can really turn around a match and lift us up, both individually and as a team.”

The win was the first of the season for the Lady Toppers. WKU is now 1-3 this season overall and 1-1 in home matches. WKU is now 6-5 all-time against NKU, with three straight wins over the Norse and wins in four of the last five matches.

WKU claimed the doubles point for the first time this season. The Lady Toppers are now 1-0 when winning the doubles point. Barbara Olvera/Virginia Madueño improved to 2-1 in doubles together this season. Emily Schut earned the 15th doubles win of her WKU career. She is two doubles wins away from being tied for 14th in doubles wins in program history.

Madueño improved to 3-1 in singles play with her win over NKU, with all four matches coming at the No. 5 position.
Sirbu is now 2-2 in singles play after her win over the Norse, with all four matches played at the No. 2 position.
Einess, Fernandez and Olvera each earned their first wins in singles play this season and as Lady Toppers.

“I think the biggest thing was staying consistent and pushing through,” WKU senior Elizabeth Sobieski said. “We know what to do, but just keep going forward in practice and matches. It was a great win.”

WKU coach Greg Davis has 338 career wins as a head coach. He entered the season tied for 23rd nationally in wins among active NCAA Division I women’s tennis head coaches with at least five years as a Division I head coach, counting all victories as a coach at a four-year institution. Davis entered the season with a career winning percentage of .637, which ranks 36th among that group of coaches. Davis has collected 79 wins at WKU, which ranks third in program history.

“It was good to get our first win of the season,” Davis said. “We had some good performances in singles. I thought Virginia and Isabelle played really well, and I thought we competed very well at a lot of the positions. In doubles, we’re still working on trying to find a way to get better. Overall, I thought it was a good match for us. Now we’ve got to get ready for a doubleheader next Friday and the teeth of the schedule coming up.”

The Lady Toppers remain at home for a doubleheader against UT Southern on Jan. 30. The first match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Singles (Order of finish: 1,4,2,5,3,6)
1. Isabelle Einess (WKU) def. Darya Gneidina (NKUW) 6-0, 6-1
2. Andra Sirbu (WKU) def. Alyssa Cameron (NKUW) 6-3, 6-1
3. Sydney Zakic (NKUW) def. Emily Schut (WKU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-3), 10-6
4. Barbara Olvera (WKU) def. Aaditi Bhat (NKUW) 6-1, 6-1
5. Virginia Madueño (WKU) def. Cassia Adamowsky (NKUW) 6-4, 6-2
6. Ariadna Fernandez (WKU) def. Haley Slay (NKUW) 6-4, 7-5

Doubles (Order of finish: 2,3,1)
1. Emily Schut/Andra Sirbu (WKU) def. Sydney Zakic/Alyssa Cameron (NKUW) 7-5
2. Isabelle Einess/Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) def. Darya Gneidina/Haley Slay (NKUW) 6-4
3. Barbara Olvera/Virginia Madueño (WKU) def. Aaditi Bhat/Catharina Cardoso (NKUW) 6-3.