WKU’s senior day triumph over Middle Tennessee this past Wednesday marked a stretch of history for the program. Seniors, Paola Cortez, Sunskrithi Damera, Anna-Marie Kopecka and Samantha Martinez each picked up a victory in singles or doubles play against Middle Tennessee on top of the team victory. 

“What a great day for the program,” WKU Head Coach Greg Davis said following senior day. “I think it shows the team what we’re capable of going forward.” 

After making adjustments, it seems WKU tennis is in a strong spot as they approach the Conference-USA Championship at the end of the month.

Looking back on the 2024 season, Sofia Blanco, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela, has remained a competitive force to be reckoned with, standing at 17-2 in overall singles play. 

Junior Rachel Hermanova has also taken control of her singles play after some early season losses. Her 12-8 singles record puts her just behind Blanco in best regular season singles play at WKU.

In doubles play, Juniors Samantha Martinez and Mariana Zegada have been an unstoppable duo as the pair hold an 11-1 doubles season record.  Their one loss came against North Alabama at the beginning of April. 

Additionally, C-USA announced Martinez and Blanco as members of the C-USA’s Women’s Tennis All-Academic Team. Martinez boasts a perfect 4.0 GPA as she studies Social Media Marketing and Blanco holds a 3.88 GPA,  pursuing a Business Analytics and Computer Science degree. 

The Hilltoppers will play their last regular season match against Florida Atlantic University Monday, April 15, at 12:30 PM CT in Boca Raton, FL. 

Conference USA tournament play will begin that same week from Thursday, April 18 to Sunday, April 21, in Miami, FL. Schedules will depend on seeding and will be released at a later date. 

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

As she competes in her third collegiate season, Blanco has already made WKU history. Her 17 doubles wins in her freshman season tied the single season record in doubles wins. 

Despite her move to the United States to play internationally, Blanco has proven that obstacles will not get in her way.

“One of the things I remind myself all the time is to always fight and never give up… I just try to do the extra mile every single day,” Blanco said. 

During Blanco’s first year at WKU, her goal was to fight for a spot in the lineup. However, she stated her goal has shifted since her freshman year. Blanco’s goal now is to not only maintain her position at the top of the lineup, but to continue breaking WKU records. Specifically, she aims to hold the best singles record and surpass her own doubles record. 

“Now that I am playing at the top of the lineup, [the matches] are harder,” Blanco said. “I think these matches give me the mentality and strength to just face another though.”

While she has contributed tremendously to the WKU tennis program, Blanco is more than a tennis player. She is a baker, lover of the outdoors, and a student studying computer analytics. She received the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honor and was named an Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete, which is awarded to student-athletes with above a 3.5 GPA. 

Blanco heads into this weekend on a four game singles win streak as WKU prepares to take on Eastern Illinois Sunday, March 10 at 1:30 pm CT.

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

The Hilltoppers matched up against Belmont University first this past weekend in a nail-biting battle, winning 4-3. Only one WKU doubles team claimed a win, which came from senior Samantha Martinez and junior Mariana Zegada. 

“Any time you’re in it in doubles and feel you have a shot to finish it and you don’t, it’s kind of like knocking the air out of you,” WKU Head Coach Greg Davis said. 

The win over Belmont came with the help of junior Sofia Blanco, redshirt junior Sayda Hernandez, senior Anne-Marie Kopecka, and senior Sunskrithi Damera as they each claimed a singles win. 

“I didn’t know how we’d respond in singles, but hey, we fought until the end.” Davis said. 

Sofia Blanco closed out the win against Anastasiya Zholdakova, despite a vigilant fight throughout the match.

“I never gave up. I ended up winning the second set 7-5 and the third set was really tight, really challenging, but I won it 7-6,” Blanco said. “There were no easy points – it was just fight and fight and fight,”

The second matchup of the weekend against IUPUI, Coach Davis’s alma mater, ended in a complete shutdown from WKU, winning 7-0. Two matches were won by default due to a singles and doubles team not showing up. Sunday against IUPUI also marked the first outdoor game played in the 2024 tennis season. 

The Hilltoppers matchup against Bellarmine University scheduled for March 6 has been canceled. 

Eastern Illinois University will travel to Bowling Green to play WKU Sunday, March 10 at 1:30 p.m. CT. 

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

The Hilltoppers overall season record now stands at 5-5 with 4 wins at home. 

Saturday was their matchup against Wyoming, winning 4-3. 

Doubles partners redshirt senior Paola Cortez and senior Anna-Marie Kopecka  won 6-2. Senior Samantha Martinez and junior Mariana Zegada won their doubles match 6-4. 

Kopecka also won her singles match against Wyoming. Junior Sofia Blanco and senior Sunskrithi Damera also beat out their opponents in single play.

The next day, WKU took on UIC, winning 4-2. 

Martinez and Zegada were the only doubles pair that left with a victory against the Flames. Kopecka, Blanco, Damera, and Hermanova all wrapped up singles play with a win. 

WKU tennis is currently led by Sofia Blanco (8-1) in singles as she comes out of the weekend with a two game winning streak.

WKU will continue their season this Saturday, March 2 at 1 P.M. CST, taking on Belmont.

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

WKU dropped their first match of Saturday, Feb. 10 with a 6-1 loss to Austin Peay.

Junior Sofia Blanco tallied the only Lady Topper point against the Governors.

However, WKU bounced back in their second match of the day, defeating Southern Indiana in a dominant 6-1 win. 

Redshirt senior Paola Cortez, junior Rachel Hermanova and seniors Anne-Marie Kopecka, Sunskrithi Damera, and Samantha Martinez all collected singles wins against Southern Indiana. 

The duos of Blanco and Martinez as well as Damera and redshirt junior Sayda Hernandez collected doubles wins in the contest. 

On Saturday, Feb. 17, WKU was swept by Murray State 7-0. 

The WKU tennis team will have a packed weekend of home games. On Saturday, Feb. 24, WKU matches up against Wyoming at 5:30 pm CT. 

They will play the University of Illinios Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 25th at 1 pm CT. in Bowling Green, KY.

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

Sofia Blanco, a junior from Caracas, Venezuela leads 5-0 in singles. Mariana Zegada, a junior from Cochabamba, Bolivia is also undefeated with a 3-0 record. 

Two doubles teams lead WKU 3-1. One team consists of Sofia Blanco and senior Samantha Martinez. The other team is red shirt junior, Paola Cortez and the senior Anne-Marie Kopecka. 

WKU’s first matchup was against Eastern Kentucky University. The Hilltoppers fell 4-3 overall. 

Cortez/Kopecka and Blanco/Martinez won their matches against EKU. However, junior Rachel Hermanova and red shirt junior Sayda Hernandez lost their first match of the season. Blanco and Kopecka were the two single players that won. 

The second matchup of the season against Northern Kentucky University ended in a 7-0 sweep in favor of WKU.

WKU then took on Western Carolina University where they lost 4-3. Cortez, Blanco and junior Mariana Zegada claimed victory in singles play. In doubles, Cortez and Kopecka won their match 7-5, however the two doubles wins for Western Carolina led the Catamounts to victory.

The Hilltoppers claimed their first victory of February with a 5-2 win against Southeast Missouri University. All three doubles teams won. Blanco, Hermanova, Zegada, and Kopecka claimed victories in singles.

That same weekend, WKU went up against Lipscomb University. WKU lost 5-2. Blanco and Zegada claimed the two wins in single play. 

WKU women’s tennis is set to play Austin Peay at 10 A.M. CST in Evansville, Indiana on Saturday, Feb. 10. 

Sports reporter Shelby Huelsman can be reached at shelby.huelsman981@topper.wku.edu.

The Lady Toppers swept doubles on the first day of the invitational. They won all four doubles matches they played against University of Houston, University of Tennessee Arlington and Incarnate Word’s teams. The Lady Toppers lost all 8 singles matches played on Nov. 3 against Rice and University of Texas San Antonio. 

The Lady Toppers performed better in singles the second day of the Rice Invitational. They won five out of eight singles matches Nov. 4. They held victories against University of Houston, Incarnate Word, and UT Arlington. The Lady Toppers did not continue strong play in the doubles category, only winning one of eight doubles matches.

“Played much better in singles today,” WKU Women’s Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis said of the Nov. 4 matches. “We play a singles match tomorrow morning, so we are excited to have an opportunity to compete and finish with some momentum going into the spring.”

The last day of the Invitational brought junior Rachel Hermanova’s lone singles victory. The Lady Toppers played five singles Nov. 5. 

The Lady Toppers spring season opens Jan. 15 at Eastern Kentucky University.

Sports reporter Morgan Larkins can be contacted at morgan.larkins297@topper.wku.edu

The three-day event took place at the Samford Tennis Center. The Tops started well in doubles, claiming three of their four matches on both Friday and Saturday.

However, a tough Friday in singles brought the Lady Toppers only two victories in their eight attempts.

On Friday, in doubles, it was junior Sofia Blanco and senior Samantha Martinez who defeated UAB 6-3 in their doubles set. Followed by junior Rachel Hermanova and redshirt junior Sayda Hernandez winning 7-6, and senior Sunskrithi Damera and junior Mariana Zegada bringing home a 6-4 victory. 

In singles, it was Damera and Hermanova who brought home victory for the Hilltoppers on Day one.

“Started off today in doubles and played very well against some tough competition,” Davis said. “In the afternoon matches, we were less competitive than we would have liked.”

On Day two of the Round Robin, the Tops came out with a vengeance during their singles matches. 

Senior Paola Cortez, Hermanova, Hernandez, and Martinez all claimed victory in their singles matches. 

Blanco and Martinez brought down South Alabama in their doubles match, followed by Hermanova and Hernandez. 

“I thought we played really good tennis today,” Davis said. “Doubles was very good for the second straight day and our singles was much improved.”

Moving onto the final day of the Round Robin, WKU continued their dominant doubles performance.

On Sunday, Cortez and senior Anna-Marie Kopecka, Blanco and Martinez, and Damera and Zegada all took their final doubles victories of the weekend. 

Cortez and Hermanova also picked up singles victories in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. 

“I would say this was a big improvement on Day 3. Winning three of four in doubles, getting wins at 1 and 2 against South Alabama, and being competitive in every other match – it was good to see that much improvement from our first tournament.”

You can catch WKU at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas from Nov. 3-5, when they wrap up their fall slate.

Sports Reporter Luke Edmonds can be reached at luke.edmonds938@topper.wku.edu

The Lady Toppers were one of six teams participating in the matches hosted by Middle Tennessee State University.

The Lady Toppers faced Tennessee State University in their first singles matches of the weekend. Senior Paola Cortez defeated Warona Mdlulwa 6-2, 6-0. Junior Rachel Hermanova followed with a win against Louise Ratiu 6-0, 6-3. Junior Sayda Hernandez also defeated Fran Gomez-Weiss 6-0, 6-2.

The doubles matches against Eastern Kentucky University, Bellarmine and Lipscomb later that day ended with similar success. The pair of Hermanova and junior Mariana Zegada defeated EKU’s pair of Madison Hill/Ezem Olce by a score of 6-3.

The Lady Toppers defeated all three of Bellarmine’s pairs and two out of three of Lipscomb’s pairs. 

The Lady Toppers boasted a more successful doubles event on Saturday compared to their singles. 

The Lady Toppers won six of their seven singles matches during the 9 a.m. time slot Saturday. Cortez defeated competitor Lena Peyer from MTSU 6-2, 6-4. Hermanova followed by defeating Lilly-Sophie Schmidt, also from MTSU, 6-2, 6-2. Senior Anna-Marie Kopecka defeated Hrudaya Shah of MTSU 6-3, 6-2. 

The Lady Toppers breezed through Saturday’s doubles matches undefeated. Cortez and Kopecka defeated TSU’s pair of Warona Mdlulwa/Daniela Koleva 6-0. Pair Sofia Blanco and Samantha Martinez earned a win by defeating TSU pair Jovana Nikolic/Louise Ratiu 6-3. Rachel Hermanova and Mariana Zegada rounded doubles out by defeating TSU pair Aroa Castillo/Fran Gomez-Weiss 6-1. 

The 2:30 p.m. time slot for singles did not bode as well for the Lady Toppers. WKU came out on top in three of eight contests. Blanco defeated Deborah Dominguez with scores of 6-2, 4-6, 10-7. Mariana Zegada also managed a victory against Lipscomb competitor Alina Cherniaieva with scores of 6-3, 3-6, 10-3. Samantha Martinez was the final winner of the singles on Saturday defeating Anja Trbeznik, scoring 6-4, 0-6, 10-8.

The Lady Toppers finished the invitational with an undefeated Sunday. They went 11-0 on the final day of the event. 

“We wanted to finish strong and to leave 8-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles was a great achievement.” WKU Women’s Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis said. “We wanted to have some momentum going into Friday’s tournament at Samford and we were able to perform at a high level today.”

Sunday’s singles contests at 9 a.m. came against EKU. Cortez defeated Marai Fedenko 6-2. Hermanza followed her lead by defeating Marilou Cote 6-2, 6-3. Sayda Hernandez helped the Lady Toppers remain undefeated by winning against Emmy Poleuoi 6-4, 6-1.

Doubles were played against MTSU and TSU. Cortez and Kopecka’s pair remained undefeated against MTSU pair Lena Peyer/Eloise Swarbrick with a score of 7-6. Blanco and Martinez helped WKU stay undefeated in doubles by defeating MTSU’s second pair consisting of Hrudaya Shah/Lilly-Sophie Schmidt with a score of 6-4. Hernandez and Zegada finished the day by defeating TSU’s pair of Natalie Walsh/Taylor Ellis 6-0.

The Lady Toppers will travel to Samford University for the Samford Invitational from Oct. 13-15. 

Sports reporter Morgan Larkins can be contacted at morgan.larkins297@topper.wku.edu

WKU will start its season off with three invitational events in the fall before spring season kicks into gear mid-January. Coach Davis has led the Lady Toppers to two out of three most winningest seasons in the program’s history. Davis hopes to lead the Lady Toppers to another successful season in 2023-24

24 games are scheduled for the regular season with twelve of them slated for home. The Lady Topper’s home games will take place at the WKU Tennis Complex and the Michael O. Buchanan Park Indoor Tennis Facility. All 24 games are set before the Conference USA Championships in Miami, Florida, April 18-21.

“One of the things putting together the schedule we wanted to do was play some new teams,” Coach Davis said. “We have Liberty coming in – we’re excited about that – and Middle Tennessee coming here is always a big match. My ex-assistant is head coach at Wyoming and he’s coming in. UIC’s coming to Bowling Green. We’ve got a very difficult schedule set up for spring.”

The fall schedule for the Lady Toppers is set to be exclusively away from home. They’re slated to play their first games of the season Oct. 6-8 in the Middle Tennessee Invitation in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The Lady Toppers full season schedule can be found here 

Sports reporter Morgan Larkins can be reached at morgan.larkins297@topper.wku.edu