Difficult weekend for men’s tennis

West Liberty’s men’s tennis team had two tough away losses this weekend at the hands of Fairmont State University and the University of Charleston. Their positive conference record still remains intact, standing at 4-3, however their ranking has taken a hit as they now sit in fourth place.

They were coming off the back of two out of conference losses against Saint Francis University and Salem University as they were looking to get back to winning ways against the falcons. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case as they were on the wrong side of a 5-2 scoreline as they were dealt their third loss in a row.

The falcons took the doubles point, winning all three games with the toppers winning just 6 sets. Zarion Jones and Anton Shultz won their singles matchups, however their efforts were not enough to salvage the team win.

WLU were on their travels again as the faced off against the #1 ranked golden eagles. They unfortunately failed to win a game as the home side came away with a 7-0 sweep further cementing their place at the top of the MEC standings. Coach Ronnie Hulewicz’s youthful Hilltoppers failed to put together any momentum in their penultimate regular season matchup as they were handed their fourth consecutive loss.

West Liberty will face off against West Virginia Wesleyan College in their final regular season game where they can secure a place in the MEC Championships. A win in this game would also gave them a strong chance of finishing the regular season in third place and go into the conference championships as the #3 seed.

The hilltoppers will be away for this match, which will start at noon on Saturday April 24.

Tough loss for women’s tennis

West Liberty’s women’s tennis team took a difficult loss at home against West Virginia State University, taking their third consecutive loss in a 7-0 sweep. The lady toppers still maintain their positive in-conference record however, which currently sits at 3-2.

Coming off the back of two tight defeats to Salem University and the University of Charleston, coach Heather Gallagher’s toppers were hoping to put an end to this losing streak and get back to winning ways as they approached the end of the regular season. This was unfortunately not the case as the talent of yellow jackets on the day was just too much for them.

The away side started the day on the front foot, winning all three doubles matches to take the doubles point and an early 1-0 lead. They then went on to take straight set wins in the Nos. one, three, five and six singles matches, showing exactly why they are one of the strongest teams in the Mountain East Conference.

WLU did not go down without a fight as both Nathalia Valencia and Luisa Agudelo won their first sets and took their games to a tiebreaker. Unfortunately for the two South American natives they were both on the wrong side of these tiebreakers as the yellow jackets secured the final two games of the day to take home the 7-0 sweep. With a perfect conference record of 5-0, ‘State are in pole position in the conference, sitting in first place and having already secured their spot in the postseason.

The lady toppers are still in a strong position to secure a spot in the MEC Championships in May as they currently sit in third position with just one conference matchup still to play. A win against West Virginia Wesleyan College in their final game of the regular season on April 25 would secure their spot as the #3 seed going into the conference championship. The lady toppers have two out of conference games before that though as they travel to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Slippery Rock University later this week.

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