MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee (4-10, 0-2 CUSA) dropped a 5-2 decision to Sam Houston Bearkats women’s tennis (7-9, 2-0 CUSA) Saturday at the Outdoor Tennis Complex Conference USA play. 

Sam Houston secured the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead. On court three, Middle Tennessee’s Zenn Lim and Lena Peyer won 6-1 over Ana Kurtsikashvili and Sara Sadadinovic. 

The Bearkats clinched the point with 6-4 victories on courts one and two. Nayuma Subba and Adi Venkatakrishnan defeated Sadbaroy Kholdarova and Zora Koenig, while Ella Fitcher and Aaliyah Hohmann topped Rutuja Chaphalkar and Sara Conde. This was the first time Chaphalkar and Conde played together this season. 

In singles play, Sam Houston added two quick points. Kurtsikashvili defeated Koenig 6-4, 6-0 on court two. After being tied 4-4 in the opening set, the Bearkats won the next two games and then swept the second set. Fitcher followed with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kholdarova on court five, giving SHSU a 3-0 lead in the match score. 

The Bearkats clinched the match to make it 4-0 after Nayuma Subba edged Lena Peyer 7-6, 6-4 on court one. In the first set, Peyer was up 4-2 before Subba went on a two-game run to tie it. The two went back and forth with two more ties before going into a tiebreaker, where Peyer lost 7-5. In the second set, Peyer tied it 4-4 before Subba won the final two games. 

Singles’ play continued as MTSU responded with two singles wins. Freshman Sthefany Lima earned the Blue Raiders’ first point with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Christine Jevicky on court three. In the second set, Lima was leading 5-0 before Jevicky went on a five-game run to tie it 5-5, but Lima sealed the deal with the next two games to win 7-5. 

Lim followed with a comeback win on court six, rallying past Isabella Garza 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. After losing the opening set, Lim came back to lead both sets, with the Bearkats being broken twice in each set. 

Sadadinovic closed the match for Sam Houston with a three-set win over Conde, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, on court four to secure the 5-2 final. Conde bounced back in the second set, leading the entire time until it was tied 5-5 before she won the next two games. In the third set, with two lead changes and three ties, the match went into a tiebreaker where Conde lost 7-5. 

  

BOX SCORE  

SHSU 5, MTSU 2 

Doubles Results 

Nayuma Subba / Adi Venkatakrishnan (SHSU) def. Sadbaroy Kholdarova / Zora Koenig (MTSU), 6-4 

Ella Fitcher / Aaliyah Hohmann (SHSU) def. Rutuja Chaphalkar / Sara Conde (MTSU), 6-4 

Zenn Lim / Lena Peyer (MTSU) def. Ana Kurtsikashvili / Sara Sadadinovic (SHSU), 6-1 

Singles Results  

Nayuma Subba (SHSU) def. Lena Peyer (MTSU), 7-6, 6-4  

Ana Kurtsikashvili (SHSU) def. Zora Koenig (MTSU), 6-4, 6-0 

Sthefany Lima (MTSU) def. Christine Jevicky (SHSU), 6-1, 7-5 

Sara Sadadinovic (SHSU) def. Sara Conde (MTSU), 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 

Ella Fitcher (SHSU) def. Sadbaroy Kholdarova (MTSU), 6-2, 6-3 

Zenn Lim (MTSU) def. Isabella Garza (SHSU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 

Order of Finish: 

Singles: 2, 5, 1, 3, 6, 4 

Doubles: 3, 1, 2 

UP NEXT: 

Middle Tennessee will return home to host New Mexico State in a Conference USA matchup on Tuesday, March 17, at 4 pm CT.  

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