Thursday, April 17
Lynchburg, Va.
10:00 AM ET
Liberty University
4
vs
2
No. 4 Kennesaw State
No. 5 Liberty Fights Back to Down No. 4 Kennesaw State 4-2
4/17/2025 2:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 5 Lady Flames (12-12) fought back from a disappointing doubles round to top No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (7-8) 4-2 in the second round of the 2025 CUSA Women's Tennis Championship.
Liberty played as the away team despite serving as the host team of both the 2025 CUSA Women's and Men's Tennis Championship.
The Owls secured the initial doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Kennesaw dominated on court two, sweeping Liberty 6-0 and jumped out to a 5-1 lead on court one to top Liberty 6-2. The two teams were knotted at 4-4 on court three when the point was secured.
Liberty came out on fire in the singles round, taking five of six first sets. Daniella O'Neill evened the match with a strong 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the No. 3 singles match. The Lady Flames took a 2-1 lead as Anika Lemus bested her foe with a similar 6-1, 6-2 score.
Kennesaw State tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-2 No. 1 singles victory. Liberty grabbed a 3-2 lead with Celina Joseph riding a dominant first set on court six for the 6-0, 6-4 triumph.
With all her teammates on the near court cheering her on, Maria Turchetto secured the match-winning fourth point with a resilient 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Yu-Yun Chen had her match go unfinished, taking a tight first-set tiebreaker to lead 7-6 (6), 3-3.
The Lady Flames advance to the semifinal round of the CUSA Championship. They will take on No. 1 seed FIU (12-4) on Friday morning at 10 a.m. from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Liberty 4, Kennesaw State 2
Singles Competition
1. Terezia Baraniakova (KSUW) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 6-2
2. Yu-Yun Chen (LIBERTYW) vs. Sofia Madrid (KSUW) 7-6 (8-6), 3-3, unfinished
3. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) def. Sophia Unger (KSUW) 6-1, 6-2
4. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) def. Izabelle Persson (KSUW) 7-5, 6-3
5. Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) def. Ema Baraniakova (KSUW) 6-1, 6-2
6. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) def. Che Nel (KSUW) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Terezia Baraniakova/Sofia Madrid (KSUW) def. Daniella O'Neill/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 6-2
2. Izabelle Persson/Sophia Unger (KSUW) def. Anika Lemus/Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-0
3. Yu-Yun Chen/Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) vs. Che Nel/Laura Nadaska (KSUW) 4-4, unfinished
Kennesaw State 7-8
Liberty 12-12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,6,4)
Official: Bruce Harrison
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
No. 5 seed Liberty (12-12) returns tomorrow to take on No. 1 seed FIU (13-4) at 10 a.m. from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Liberty played as the away team despite serving as the host team of both the 2025 CUSA Women's and Men's Tennis Championship.
The Owls secured the initial doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Kennesaw dominated on court two, sweeping Liberty 6-0 and jumped out to a 5-1 lead on court one to top Liberty 6-2. The two teams were knotted at 4-4 on court three when the point was secured.
Liberty came out on fire in the singles round, taking five of six first sets. Daniella O'Neill evened the match with a strong 6-1, 6-2 triumph in the No. 3 singles match. The Lady Flames took a 2-1 lead as Anika Lemus bested her foe with a similar 6-1, 6-2 score.
Kennesaw State tied the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-2 No. 1 singles victory. Liberty grabbed a 3-2 lead with Celina Joseph riding a dominant first set on court six for the 6-0, 6-4 triumph.
With all her teammates on the near court cheering her on, Maria Turchetto secured the match-winning fourth point with a resilient 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Yu-Yun Chen had her match go unfinished, taking a tight first-set tiebreaker to lead 7-6 (6), 3-3.
The Lady Flames advance to the semifinal round of the CUSA Championship. They will take on No. 1 seed FIU (12-4) on Friday morning at 10 a.m. from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Liberty 4, Kennesaw State 2
Singles Competition
1. Terezia Baraniakova (KSUW) def. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 6-2
2. Yu-Yun Chen (LIBERTYW) vs. Sofia Madrid (KSUW) 7-6 (8-6), 3-3, unfinished
3. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) def. Sophia Unger (KSUW) 6-1, 6-2
4. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) def. Izabelle Persson (KSUW) 7-5, 6-3
5. Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) def. Ema Baraniakova (KSUW) 6-1, 6-2
6. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) def. Che Nel (KSUW) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Terezia Baraniakova/Sofia Madrid (KSUW) def. Daniella O'Neill/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) 6-2
2. Izabelle Persson/Sophia Unger (KSUW) def. Anika Lemus/Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) 6-0
3. Yu-Yun Chen/Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) vs. Che Nel/Laura Nadaska (KSUW) 4-4, unfinished
Kennesaw State 7-8
Liberty 12-12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,6,4)
Official: Bruce Harrison
Lady Flames News & Notes
- The Lady Flames improve to 4-0 all-time against Kennesaw State.
- Daniella O'Neill (8-9) moved to 5-0 this season playing in the No. 3 singles position.
- Celina Joseph (11-10) extended her singles winning streak to six matches.
- Liberty wins just its second match this season (2-9) after falling in the doubles round.
- Anika Lemus (9-10) earned a three-match singles winning streak with the triumph.
Up Next
No. 5 seed Liberty (12-12) returns tomorrow to take on No. 1 seed FIU (13-4) at 10 a.m. from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Terezia Baraniakova / 0 [KSUW]
66
42
#2 Singles Match
123
Sofia Madrid / 0 [KSUW]
630
73UF
#3 Singles Match
12
Sophia Unger / 0 [KSUW]
12
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Izabelle Persson / 0 [KSUW]
53
76
#5 Singles Match
12
Ema Baraniakova / 0 [KSUW]
12
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Che Nel / 0 [KSUW]
04
66
Order of Finish:
3,5,6,1,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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