By Scott Sutton, The Miami Student
The Miami University women's tennis team (2-3) pulled off a 4-3 upset against No. 55 nationally ranked Marshall University (4-3) Sunday morning at the Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton, Ohio.
In the last match of the day, sophomore Nelli Ponomareva overcame a 6-1 first set loss and took the final two sets at 6-3 from Marshall's sophomore Maddie Silver. This win clinched the overall victory for Miami.
"It really meant a lot to have my teams support and to hear them cheering for me during the final sets of the match," Ponomareva said. "I was worried I was going to lose so I started changing my style of play to being more defensive but I ended up just playing my game."
The RedHawks began the day with a 6-3 doubles victory from junior Andreea Badlieanu and senior Ana Rajkovic. The sophomore duo of Anastasiia Vasiukhina and Ponomareva also clinched a 6-4 victory to put Miami up 1-0.
After winning her doubles match, Rajkovic defeated junior Anne Gulsrud 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Emily Struble won her singles match against Marshall's sophomore Marija Bogicevic 6-4, 6-3.
Badlieanu, freshman Anzhelika Shapovalova and sophomore Hannah Shetyn each lost their singles matches. Shapovalova lost 6-2, 6-4 to junior Derya Turhan, Shetyn lost 6-0, 7-5 to junior Anna Pomyatinskaya, and Badlieanu ended her day with a 6-3, 6-0 loss to junior Rachael Morales.
The match victory was much-needed after a 6-1 loss to Xavier University last weekend.
"We finally got it all together and made it happen," head coach Yana Carrolo said. It was very important to get a win today, and we have never come close to beating them in the past. Every match you play is very crucial and the girls played very well. Each player had a great mental state of mind, and they stayed in the moment instead of worrying about everything else going on."
Miami travels to Lincoln, Neb. on Friday to play the University of Nebraska (6-1), which is coming off a 6-1 loss to Wichita State.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Read More
Karli Spaid and Jenna Golembiewski: Miami softball’s powerful 1-2 punch
By Andrew Relvas | 992 minutes agoTwo of Miami’s top hitters are players who are having career years. They rank first and second in the nation in home runs and first and third in the MAC in RBIs, and both are in the top 15 in batting average. Those two players are Jenna Golembiewski and Karli Spaid.
Miami Softball set to make another postseason push with weeks left in the regular season
By Kethan Babu | YesterdayMiami softball sits at 29-6 (11-0 in MAC play). With just over two weeks left in the regular season, Miami finds itself at a great spot for a postseason push
Noreen is ready to bring the Miami hockey program back to life through an emphasis on player development and culture
By Jeffrey Middleton | YesterdayAnthony Noreen was introduced as the seventh head coach of the Miami University hockey program. In an impassioned speech and throughout extended answers to questions, he spoke with conviction about the return of Miami to the upper echelon of the college hockey landscape through player development, along with an emphasis on culture and discipline.