Lady Toppers Claim Senior Day Win Over Middle Tennessee

After recognizing seniors Carolina Chiatti and Elizabeth Sobieski prior to the match, the Lady Toppers (11-13 overall, 2-2 Conference USA) won the doubles point with victories from the duos of Emily Schut/Virginia Madueño and Ariadna Fernandez/Barbara Olvera, then followed with singles wins from Madueño, Olvera and Fernandez at the No. 3, 4 and 5 positions, respectively, to take down the Blue Raiders (6-14 overall, 1-6 CUSA).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Singles (Order of finish: 3,2,4,1,5)

• 1. Lena Peyer (MTSU) def. Isabelle Einess (WKU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
• 2. Zora Koenig (MTSU) def. Emily Schut (WKU) 6-4, 6-3
• 3. Virginia Madueño (WKU) def. Sthefany Lima (MTSU) 6-3, 6-2
• 4. Barbara Olvera (WKU) def. Sara Conde (MTSU) 0-6, 6-2, 6-0
• 5. Ariadna Fernandez (WKU) def. Sadbaroy Kholdarova (MTSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
• 6. Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) vs. Zenn Lim (MTSU) 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 1-3, unfinished

• 1. Emily Schut/Virginia Madueño (WKU) def. Sara Conde/Cara Szilasi (MTSU) 6-4
• 2. Ariadna Fernandez/Barbara Olvera (WKU) def. Zora Koenig/Sadbaroy Kholdarova (MTSU) 6-2
• 3. Isabelle Einess/Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) vs. Lena Peyer/Zenn Lim (MTSU) 5-4, unfinished

• WKU finishes the regular season with an 11-13 overall record and a 2-2 record against CUSA opponents.
• The Lady Toppers finish the regular season with nine home wins. The nine home wins are fourth-most in a single season in program history.
• Thursday’s match was the 45th between WKU and Middle Tennessee. The Lady Toppers are now 15-30 all-time against the Blue Raiders. WKU has won two of the last three meetings and the last three times the two have met in Bowling Green.
• WKU has won at least 10 matches in each of the last five seasons. It is the second time the program has accomplished the feat, also doing so between the 2009-13 seasons. The Lady Toppers have won 73 matches over the last five seasons, which is the highest win total over a five-year period in program history.
• The Lady Toppers have won the doubles point in eight matches this season. They are 8-0 this season when winning the doubles point.
• Emily Schut and Virginia Madueño are now 3-2 together in doubles this season with three consecutive wins. All five of those matches were played at the No. 1 position.
• Barbara Olvera and Ariadna Fernandez are now 3-1 together in doubles this season, with those four matches coming at the No. 2 position.
• Schut, Olvera and Madueño each lead the team with 10 doubles wins this season.
• Schut now has 24 doubles wins during her WKU career, which ranks tied for 12th in program history with Karina Ledaja, who had 24 doubles wins from 2002-04.
• Madueño is now 16-4 in singles this season, including 6-1 at the No. 3 position. She has won her last three matches. The 16 singles wins are tied for fifth-most in a single season in program history, and only Rachel Hermanova has more singles wins in a season as a true freshman in program history. Hermanova had 19 singles wins during the 2022 season as a freshman.
• Olvera improved to 11-10 this season in singles, winning her fourth match at the No. 4 position.
• Fernandez improved to 10-6 in singles this season, including 3-2 at the No. 5 position.
• Head Coach Greg Davis now has 348 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 ranked 36th among that group of coaches.
• Davis has collected 89 wins at WKU, which ranks second in program history. He trails only Jeff True on the Lady Topper Tennis career coaching wins list. True claimed 132 wins between 2001-14.

• “We’ve been working hard and we kept getting closer and closer throughout the season. I knew our best match was out there. We hadn’t played it yet, and we played it on Senior Day, which was nice to see.” – WKU Women’s Tennis Head Coach Greg Davis, on the win over Middle Tennessee.
• “I think the biggest thing is just to compete with really great girls. That’s kind of been the takeaway for me. Tennis is such an individual sport, but to put 6-8 girls on the court together is such an experience and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to do it and do it here where we’re supported and cheered for almost every day.” – WKU Women’s Tennis senior Elizabeth Sobieski, on Senior Day.
• “This has been a pleasure. Even though I’m not playing, just being on the bench, I feel like on the court. I get so excited and I’m like, ‘Yes, let’s go!’ So it’s just amazing to watch them. They play so good together. There’s just amazing energy and amazing chemistry, too. It’s just such a blessing to be here at Western and finish my degree here.” – WKU Women’s Tennis senior Carolina Chiatti, on Senior Day.