Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
West Virginia
Herd Splits Saturday Doubleheader
3/31/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Final Stats (vs. WVU) | Final Stats (vs. West Virginia State)
Final Stats (PDF vs. WVU) | Final Stats (PDF vs. West Virginia State)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - A strong performance in the second match of a Saturday doubleheader allowed the Marshall women's tennis team to split its two matches against Mountain State foes. Marshall was defeated by West Virginia, 4-3, but rebounded to beat West Virginia State, 7-0.
"We gave ourselves a chance in the match against WVU and had a 4-3 lead in the third set of the deciding match," head coach John Mercer said. "We just couldn't finish
Marshall got off to a slow start in its opening match, dropping the doubles point to the Mountaineers to fall into a quick hole. The pairs of Anna Smith and Marija Bogicevic and Brooke Lashway and Ana Marhuenda each fell by a score of 6-3.
The Herd found itself in a bigger hole midway through singles play against the Mountaineers. After Stephanie Smith won her third straight match, 6-1, 6-0, Bogicevic and Marhuenda were each defeated in straight sets, putting Marshall in a 3-1 deficit. Brooke Lashway began the Herd's comeback attempt with her first win of the season, 6-4, 6-3. Anna Smith followed with her sixth straight win, 6-3, 6-4. Maddie Silver forced a third set in the deciding match, but was ultimately defeated, 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4, as West Virginia defeated the Herd.
"We didn't hang our heads after that tough loss earlier," Mercer said. "We were consistent and played well on all six courts against West Virginia State."
Marshall quickly rebounded from its earlier loss and within an hour of the final point against WVU, had already clinched the doubles point against West Virginia State. Anna Smith and Bogicevic opened with a 6-1 win and Silver and Stephanie Smith clinched the point with a 6-0 win. Marhuenda and Lashway completed a sweep of the doubles matches with a 6-3 win.
Marshall made quick work of the singles matches, taking all six singles matches within 90 minutes. Anna Smith extended her win streak to seven with a 6-0, 6-2 win. Stephanie Smith followed with a 6-0, 6-0 win, her fourth straight win. Bogicevic tied her single-season best with seven wins, clinching the match for the Herd. Marhuenda snapped a long losing streak with a 6-1, 6-3 win and Lashway won her second match of the day, 6-0, 6-1. Silver closed the match with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
"Hopefully we can take the momentum from this last match and take it into these last two weeks of the regular season and the conference tournament," Mercer said.
Marshall hits the road for its final Conference USA match Saturday at Middle Tennessee. First serve is set for 4 p.m.
Players Mentioned
