CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University women's tennis team won No. 1 doubles and No. 1-3 singles, but was unable to complete the upset of No. 75 Florida Gulf Coast and dropped a 4-3 ASUN Conference decision, Sunday, at the Governors Tennis Courts.
Jana Leder and Melody Hefti improved to 13-4 this spring and 4-1 in ASUN play with a 6-4 win from the No. 1 doubles position, giving Austin Peay (13-5, 4-2 ASUN) the early doubles advantage. Shortly after their match went final, Sophia Baranov and Denise Torrealba fell in a 6-4 match from the No. 2 line, falling to 8-3 together this season while exclusively playing the middle court.
Florida Gulf Coast (13-6, 4-2 ASUN) then claimed the match's first point with a 6-4 victory against Yu-Hua Cheng and Asia Fontana, ending the pairing's team-best five-match winning streak.
Melody Hefti made quick work of FGCU's Isabella Colmenares in singles, defeating her 6-1, 6-4 in the first match that went final. Hefti improves to 14-2 on the season, 5-0 in ASUN play and extends her singles winning streak to 10 matches.
Leder's match was the next to go final, as the redshirt junior came back after dropping her first set to outscore FGCU's Emma Bardet, 6-1, 6-3 in the final two sets. The win is her 13th of the spring and is the second time this season she has come back after dropping the first frame.
Baranov had her 15-match winning streak come to an end following a narrow, three-set decision in the No. 4 singles. Her 15-match winning streak is the longest by a true freshman in program history, four more than the previous record held by APSU alumna, Danielle Morris.
With the match tied at two, Torrealba regained the lead for APSU with her comeback victory in No. 2 singles. The Neu-Isenburg, Germany native answered a first-set loss with a 6-0 second-set victory followed by an 8-6 win the third set's tiebreaker. With the victory, Torrealba improved to 10-6 this spring, 4-1 in ASUN play and 8-3 from the No. 2 position.
After FGCU claimed the win against Fontana in No. 6 singles, Cheng's match was the only remaining. The sophomore defeated FGCU's Ida Ferding, 7-2 in the first set, but dropped the second and third, 6-2, 6-1, respectively.
The Governors now sit in a three-way tie with FGCU and Jacksonville State – who they will face next Saturday on the road – for fourth in ASUN standings.
Austin Peay wraps up the regular season portion of its ASUN slate next week on the road. The Govs face Central Arkansas in a 11 a.m., Thursday match at the UCA Tennis Courts in Conway, Arkansas. Following their contest against the Sugar Bears, APSU faces long-time rival Jacksonville State at 1 p.m., Saturday, at the JSU Tennis Courts in Jacksonville, Alabama.
Results vs. #75 FGCU
Doubles
- Jana Leder / Melody Hefti def. Emma Bardet . Ida Ferding, 6-4
- Alba Retoortillo / Jordana Ossa def. Sophia Baranov / Denise Torrealba, 6-4
- Isabella Colmenares / Fanny Norin def. Yu-Hua Cheng / Asia Fontana , 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
- Jana Leder def. Emma Bardet, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Denise Torrealba def. Fanny Norin, 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6)
- Melody Hefti def. Isabella Colmenares, 6-1, 6-4
- Jordana Ossa def. Sophia Baranov, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
- Ida Ferding def. Yu-Hua Cheng, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-1
- Alba Terortillo def. Asia Fontana, 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5*
