Women’s Tennis Drops a Pair of Matches in Texas

DENTON, Texas. – The Liberty women’s tennis team (12-8) faced a challenging weekend in Denton, Texas, falling to host North Texas (14-6) 4-3 on Friday and No. 26 Wichita State (16-3) 4-0 in a neutral-site match on Saturday.
           
Liberty came back against North Texas, evening the match at 3-3. Milana Tsulygina was unable to overcome a first-set loss as the Mean Green sealed the victory. The Lady Flames nearly earned the doubles point against Wichita State and were unable to secure a match point in singles.
           
The Lady Flames fall to 6-7 away from Lynchburg this season. Liberty is 3-4 on a stretch of eight consecutive road matches to conclude the regular season.
 
North Texas 4, Liberty 3
Liberty secured three singles victories but struggled in doubles. The competition began with North Texas claiming the doubles point, starting with Lou Chalard and Lilly Schultz defeating Yoanna Radulova and Maria Turchetto, 6-1 on court one. Liberty’s Anika Lemus and Candy Wai responded with a 6-3 victory at No. 3 doubles over Pia Petelinsek and Carolina Laydner. North Texas managed to clinch the critical doubles point with a 7-5 win at No. 2 doubles by Ujin Batsukh and Marina Adati against Daniella O’Neill and Milana Tsulygina.

In singles, Liberty leveled the score with Wai’s straight-set win at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-4, against Batsukh. Celina Joseph followed with a decisive 6-0, 7-5 victory at No. 6 singles over Giulianna Ciangherot, giving Liberty a 2-1 lead. However, the Mean Green tied the match at 2-2 when Chalard defeated Radulova, 6-3, 6-4 on court two. Turchetto then pushed Liberty ahead once more with a three-set win at No. 3 singles, overcoming Adati, 7-5, 1-6, 6-0. Unfortunately, North Texas responded with victories at No. 1 and No. 4 singles, leading to a 4-3 overall win for the Mean Green.

 

Singles Competition

1. Carolina Laydner (UNT) def. Daniella O’Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 1-6, 6-0

2. Lou Chalard (UNT) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-4

3. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) def. Marina Adati (UNT) 7-5, 1-6, 6-0

4. Lilly Schultz (UNT) def. Milana Tsulygina (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

5. Candy Wai (LIBERTYW) def. Ujin Batsukh (UNT) 6-4, 6-4

6. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) def. Giulianna Ciangherot (UNT) 6-0, 7-5

 

Doubles Competition

1. Lou Chalard/Lilly Schultz (UNT) def. Yoanna Radulova/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 6-1

2. Ujin Batsukh/Marina Adati (UNT) def. Daniella O’Neill/Milana Tsulygina (LIBERTYW) 7-5

3. Anika Lemus/Candy Wai (LIBERTYW) def. Pia Petelinsek/Carolina Laydner (UNT) 6-3

 

Liberty 12-7

North Texas 14-6

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,6,2,3,1,4)

 

#26 Wichita State 4, Liberty 0

In the following match against Wichita State, Liberty dropped the doubles point despite a win at the No. 2 doubles position. Wichita State’s No. 2 doubles team of Kris. Kudryavtseva and Theodora Chantava were defeated by Tsulygina and O’Neill, who claimed a 6-1 victory. Wichita State secured the doubles point with wins on the remaining courts, including a 6-3 victory by their No. 1 doubles pair, ranked No. 24, Xin Tong Wang and Giorgia Roselli, over Turchetto and Radulova. The Shockers survived in the doubles round with a 7-5 win at No. 3 doubles by Anne Knuettel and Palmy Vimuktananda against Wai and Lemus, coming back from a 5-1 deficit.

In singles, the Shockers extended their lead with Chantava defeating Radulova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 3 singles, and Wang securing a 6-3, 6-2 win over O’Neill at No. 1 singles. Vimuktananda then clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-4 win against Tsulygina at No. 4 singles.

Three matches went unfinished. Lemus’ match at No. 6 singles ended at 7-5, 1-1. Turchetto faced a tough battle at No. 2 singles, ultimately falling 7-5 in the first set to Roselli. Joseph’s encounter at No. 5 singles was tightly contested, with Kudryavtseva taking the first set 7-6(4) before she led 4-0 in the second set when the match was halted.

 

Singles Competition

1. Xin Tong Wang (WSU) def. Daniella O’Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-2

2. Giorgia Roselli (WSU) vs. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 7-5, unfinished

3. Theodora Chantava (WSU) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-1

4. #90 Palmy Vimuktananda (WSU) def. Milana Tsulygina (LIBERTYW) 6-0, 6-4

5. Kris. Kudryavtseva (WSU) vs. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) 7-6 (7-4), 0-4, unfinished

6. Tatyana Nikolenko (WSU) vs. Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) 5-7, 1-1, unfinished

 

Doubles Competition

1. #24 Xin Tong Wang/Giorgia Roselli (WSU) def. Maria Turchetto/Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-3

2. Milana Tsulygina/Daniella O’Neill (LIBERTYW) def. Kris. Kudryavtseva/Theodora Chantava (WSU) 6-1

3. Anne Knuettel/Palmy Vimuktananda (WSU) def. Candy Wai/Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) 7-5

 

Liberty 12-8

Wichita State 16-3; National ranking #26

Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,1,4)

 

Lady Flames News & Notes

Liberty is now 67-39 (.632) collectively in singles and 31-20 (.608) in doubles.
O’Neill had a six-match winning streak snapped against North Texas, all in the No. 1 singles position.
Turchetto made her fifth appearance in the No. 2 singles slot while Joseph made her sixth appearance in the No. 5 slot.

 
Up Next
Liberty (12-8) prepares for its final match of the season. The Lady Flames take on Richmond (5-9) on the road Thursday at 1 p.m.