Photo by Devin P. Grimes / MTSU Sidelines
The Middle Tennessee women’s tennis team traveled to Columbia, South Carolina this weekend to compete in their first match of the new season.
It was an action-packed few days for the Lady Raiders, as they performed well in both singles and doubles action.
The first matches of the tournament took place on Friday, with the six singles matches all going in favor of the host, South Carolina.
Junior Luisa Zirilli and sophomore Lidia Burrows managed to push their matches to tie-breakers, salvaging a little bit of the singles portion for Middle Tennessee.
The team faired far better on the doubles side of the tournament, with Burrows and junior Costanza Magazzini pairing up to defeat Marshall by a score of 6-0. The other doubles team of sophomore Marta Herrero and senior Maria Zehnder won their match by a tally of 6-3.
Saturday saw more success for the singles players, as Zirilli winning in straight sets. Junior Kim Kermet and Herrero both won matches, with Kermet winning her first match as a Blue Raider.
The doubles teams saw more success as well, as the Raiders dominated North Florida by a final of 6-1 behind the rackets of Zirilli and Kermet, and Burrows and Magazzini. Each team won dominant decisions of 6-0.
The final day of action on Sunday saw more singles victories for several key players, marking a highly successful first tournament for the women’s team that is only going to get better and is loaded with talent for many seasons to come.
The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will play a little closer to home in their next match in Nashville at the USTA 25K Pre-Qualifying Tournament from September 29 through October 1.
To contact Sports Editor Rusty Ellis, email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
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