Competitive Big 12 matches are the perfect preparation for postseason tennis, WVU found out Monday.
In a match going late into the evening, WVU took down the Pacific Tigers 4-2 in the quarterfinal round of UTR Sports’ National Invitational Tennis Championship. The Mountaineers advanced to the semifinals of the eight-team tournament, where they will play Tulsa on Tuesday.
West Virginia earned a spot in the NIT after posting a 15-12 regular season record. With 10 Big 12 teams ranking in the ITA’s top 75, the Mountaineers went 3-10 in conference play and missed out on the NCAA Tournament after falling 4-2 to Baylor in the first round of the Big 12 Championships.
Coach Miha Lisac’s lineup against Pacific was identical to the one he used against Baylor in April, down to the doubles pairings and court placements. Senior Momoko Nagato and junior Michaela Kucharova retained their new role as WVU’s top doubles team while graduate student Love-Star Alexis played on court one in singles.
Two of WVU’s top players, junior Camilla Bossi and freshman Maya Bordereau, did not make the trip to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and instead will be focusing on their professional careers this summer.
Graduate student Ting-Pei Chang and sophomore Maja Dodik secured West Virginia the crucial doubles point to earn the match lead early. The pair one its court two match 6-4 to break the round tie. Nagato and Kucharova fell 6-4 on court one shortly after Alexis and junior Tatiana Lipatova earned a 6-2 victory on court three.
In singles, Kucharova and Nagato bounced back in a big way, becoming the first two Mountaineers to win their matches. Kucharova, who earned WVU’s third seed late in the year after a strong campaign at courts five and six, defeated junior Megan Carmichael 6-2, 6-1 just before Nagato secured a 6-3, 6-3 win on court two.
With a 3-0 match lead, West Virginia played off its momentum to tie three matches with second set victories. Alexis won 6-2 on court one, Lipatova won 7-5 on court five, and Chang won 6-4 on court six, all to force a third set.
Pacific managed to hold on a bit longer, though, as fifth year Klara Kosan won 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 over Alexis and freshman Milena Maiorova defeated Lipatova 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. WVU still led the match 3-2 and led two third sets as the court lights turned on.
After falling in a tight 7-5 second set, Maja Dodik won her third 6-3 and secured the West Virginia victory. Chang led 5-2 when her match was cut short.
West Virginia, the second seeded team at the NIT, advances to the semifinals alongside top seed Colorado, third seeded Tulsa, and fourth seeded Liberty.
WVU’s Tuesday match against Tulsa does not have a set time but will be the last match of the day. All NIT matches are available to watch live on Amazon Prime Video.
Photo from WVU Women’s Tennis
