Western Kentucky women’s tennis players Lisa Friess, Laura Bernardos and Lucia Diaz Saez opened the fall season by advancing through their respective brackets at the two-day APSU Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Clarksville, Tenn.

In Flight 2 of singles, senior Friess fell to Belmont’s Drew Hawkins in a-second set tiebreaker in her first match. Friess won her next three matches to win the consolation side of the bracket. Friess defeated singles opponents from Southeastern Missouri and host Austin Peay.

Doubles pair Bernardos and Diaz Saez started their weekend with a bye. They were then quick to defeat a doubles pair from Murray State in the second round of the Flight 2 doubles bracket.

The Spanish duo won a tight matchup against a Belmont tandem in 7-6 fashion to advance to the final round. In the championship match, the Lady Toppers fell to Southeastern Missouri 6-1.

Every WKU newcomer picked up at least two victories. Redshirt sophomore Lauren Joch won two single matches, one against Belmont and another against Chattanooga. Joch teamed up with Tristen Bryant-Otake for doubles and the pair also won two matches.

As a singles competitor in the third flight, Bryant-Otake defeated her Belmont opponent in straight sets.

Sophomore Zoe Wende won two singles matches while junior Cora-Lynn Freiin Von Dungern picked up one singles victory and one doubles win as she competed alongside Friess.

WKU will be back in action Friday and Saturday at the North Alabama Invite in Florence, Ala.