Western Kentucky’s women’s tennis team bounced back from a loss to Samford earlier this week and defeated Eastern Illinois 7-0 on Friday at the Warren County Tennis Facility at Michael O. Buchanon Park.

“We played well today, I thought, in both doubles and singles, which is what we need,” WKU coach Greg Davis said in a news release. “One of our goals at the beginning of the season is to have a winning record every single month, so the first two months we’ve been able to do that. Today solidified that. The new month starts on Sunday. Whenever you’ve got a conference team like Jacksonville State coming in, that’s a big match, and it’s not just a big match, but it’s a big match for seeding purposes when you get to the conference tournament. We know that. We’re well aware of it. We’re well aware of them being a talented team.

“We know it’s going to take a great effort on Sunday against Jacksonville State and Southern Indiana – a very improved team. We hope to bring out a lot of people in the tennis community and that other people come out for the first time on Sunday.”

The Lady Toppers improve to 7-4 overall and 5-3 at home this season with the win over the Panthers (2-11).

The Lady Toppers are now 4-0 all-time against Eastern Illinois. Friday’s match was the third in a nine-match homestand.

WKU has won the doubles point in seven of its 11 matches this season.

WKU’s Emily Schut and Mia Miranda improved to 8-2 together this season in doubles, including a 4-1 record from the No. 1 position. No. 85 Sofia Blanco and Rachel Hermanova improved to 5-5 together in doubles this season. Blanco now has 43 career doubles wins, which ranks second in program history.m Hermanova now has 21 career doubles wins, which is 12th-most in program history.

Hermanova has won three straight singles matches and is now 8-3 this season from the No. 1 position. Her 57 career singles wins are a program record.

Blanco has now won four straight singles matches and is 8-2 this season from the No. 2 position. Her win Friday was the 48th of her career, which is second in program history.

Miranda improved to 5-5 in singles play this season with her win over Eastern Illinois.

Sunskrithi Damera has now won her last four singles matches and is 5-3 this season. Her win on Friday was the 25th singles win of her WKU career. The 25 career singles wins are tied for 10th-most in program history.

All four returning Lady Toppers from the 2023-24 season are now in the top-10 of the program’s career singles wins list. Hermanova is first with 57 singles wins, Blanco is second with 48, Mariana Zegada is ninth with 28 and Damera is tied for 10th with 25.

Schut has won four straight singles matches and is now 8-1 as a Lady Topper, including 3-1 from the No. 5 position.

“I would say that we lost on Wednesday and it was a tough loss, but today we had a very good win,” Damera said. “On each court we played really well and we didn’t give the opponents a chance to take over us. It is going to set a good boost for the Sunday matches.”

The Lady Toppers will remain at home for a doubleheader on Sunday against Jax State and Southern Indiana and the Warren County Tennis Facility at Michael O. Buchanon Park. The match against Jax State is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., and the match against Southern Indiana is set for a 6 p.m. start. The matches will be the fourth and fifth in a nine-match homestand.

Singles (Order of finish: 6,5,2,3,4,1)

1. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. Aleyla Wooten (EIU-W) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)

2. Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Ornellla Lomenzo (EIU-W) 6-2, 6-2

3. Mia Miranda (WKU) def. Charleigh Fay (EIU-W) 6-3, 6-2

4. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) def. Michelle Kostadinova (EIU-W) 6-3, 6-3

5. Emily Schut (WKU) def. L. Renovales-Salazar (EIU-W) 6-0, 6-3

6. Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. No player (EIU-W), by default

Doubles (Order of finish: 3,2,1)

1. Mia Miranda/Emily Schut (WKU) def. Aleyla Wooten/Michelle Kostadinova (EIU-W) 6-3

2. #85 Sofia Blanco/Rachel Hermanova (WKU) def. L. Renovales-Salazar/Charleigh Fay (EIU-W) 6-0

3. Elizabeth Sobieski/Mariana Zegada (WKU) def. No player/No player (EIU-W), by default