WASHINGTON, Pa. - The University of Charleston women's tennis team handed West Liberty a 7-0 setback here at Washington Park on Sunday afternoon, forging a three-way tie for first place in the final Mountain East Conference standings.
Coach Heather Gallagher's Hilltoppers, the Golden Eagles and West Virginia State all finished the regular season with identical 6-1 league records and will be recognized as MEC co-champions for the 2021-22 season.
Ranked No. 34 in the nation and No. 3 in the Atlantic Region, Charleston gained the early advantage on Sunday by pulling out a narrow win in doubles play.
The Golden Eagles took a 6-0 decision at No. 1 doubles but the West Liberty tandem of Nathalia Valencia and Jacqueline Pena-Aceves evened matters with a 6-4 win at the No. 3 slot.
The Hilltoppers' No. 2 doubles pairing of Evelina Martirosyan and Gemma Cliffe battled their way into a tiebreaker but UC was able to seal the doubles point with a 7-3 nod in the tiebreaker.
The Golden Eagles carried that momentum into singles play, recording straight-set wins in all six matches to complete the sweep.
A series of tiebreakers will be employed to determine the seedings for the MEC Tournament, scheduled for April 30 and May 1 in Charleston. Those seedings and tournament pairings will be announced later this week.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
No. 34 Charleston 7, West Liberty 0
Doubles
Singh/Balakrishnan (UC) d. Arnal/Shchoma, 6-0
Drouin/William (UC) d. Martirosyan/Cliffe, 7-6(3)
Valencia/Pena-Aceves (WLU) d. Swann/Glaves, 6-4
Singles
Singh (UC) d. Arnal, 6-1 6-3
Drouin (UC) d. Martirosyan, 6-3 6-1
Balancho (UC) d. Cliffe, 6-3 6-2
Balakrishnan (UC) d. Valencia, 6-3 6-3
Glaves (UC) d. Pena-Aceves, 6-4 6-4
William (UC) d. Shchoma, 6-1 6-4