Saturday, April 5
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4
vs
1
Western Kentucky
Liberty Tops Western Kentucky 4-1 to Wrap Home Regular Season
4/5/2025 4:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty (10-11, 4-1 CUSA) battled through adversity to best Western Kentucky (13-8, 2-2 CUSA) 4-1 in its final regular season home match.
The Lady Flames took the doubles with a strong showing on courts three (6-1) and one (6-3). Liberty's no. 1 pair and back-to-back CUSA Doubles Pair of the Week, Daniella O'Neill and Maria Turchetto secured their sixth-consecutive victory. On court two, the pair of Yoanna Radulova and Anika Lemus were on match point up 5-3 when the point was clinched.
At the beginning of the singles round, the Lady Flames dropped planned No. 2 singles Yu-Yun Chen who was unable to continue. O'Neill was elevated to No. 2 while the rest of the lineup moved up one position with Sadie Daavettila entering into the No. 6 position.
Celina Joseph kicked things off with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the No. 5 singles match. Daavettila battled back from a difficult 6-3 first-set loss on court six. She dominated the rest of the match while only dropping two games in the second and third set for the 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory. WKU secured a singles match on court two as O'Neill fell in a tight back-and-forth match, 6-4, 7-5.
Liberty secured the match-winning fourth point in the No. 1 singles match. Neither player was able to create more than a two-game lead in the first set with Radulova taking an initial tiebreaker 7-6 (4) Radulova jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and was able to hold onto the break over Rachel Hermanova for the 7-6 (4), 6-4 triumph.
With two road matches remaining, the Lady Flames finish the regular season with a 6-5 record at home. Liberty improves to 3-0 all-time against the Hilltoppers.
Liberty 4, Western Kentucky 1
Singles Competition
1. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) def. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
2. Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 7-5
3. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) vs. Mariana Zegada (WKU) 5-7, 6-4, unfinished
4. Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) vs. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
5. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) def. Emily Schut (WKU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Sadie Daavettila (LIBERTYW) def. Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. Daniella O'Neill/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) def. Sofia Blanco/Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 6-3
2. Yoanna Radulova/Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) vs. Emily Schut/Mariana Zegada (WKU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Celina Joseph/Yu-Yun Chen (LIBERTYW) def. Elizabeth Sobieski/Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-1
Western Kentucky 13-8 (2-2)
Liberty 10-11 (4-1)
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,6,2,1)
Lady Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty (10-11, 4-1 CUSA) wraps up the regular season on the road at Louisiana Tech (13-8, 3-0 CUSA) on Friday at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT and Sam Houston (5-8, 0-4 CUSA) on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET/10 p.m. CT.
The Lady Flames took the doubles with a strong showing on courts three (6-1) and one (6-3). Liberty's no. 1 pair and back-to-back CUSA Doubles Pair of the Week, Daniella O'Neill and Maria Turchetto secured their sixth-consecutive victory. On court two, the pair of Yoanna Radulova and Anika Lemus were on match point up 5-3 when the point was clinched.
At the beginning of the singles round, the Lady Flames dropped planned No. 2 singles Yu-Yun Chen who was unable to continue. O'Neill was elevated to No. 2 while the rest of the lineup moved up one position with Sadie Daavettila entering into the No. 6 position.
Celina Joseph kicked things off with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the No. 5 singles match. Daavettila battled back from a difficult 6-3 first-set loss on court six. She dominated the rest of the match while only dropping two games in the second and third set for the 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory. WKU secured a singles match on court two as O'Neill fell in a tight back-and-forth match, 6-4, 7-5.
Liberty secured the match-winning fourth point in the No. 1 singles match. Neither player was able to create more than a two-game lead in the first set with Radulova taking an initial tiebreaker 7-6 (4) Radulova jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and was able to hold onto the break over Rachel Hermanova for the 7-6 (4), 6-4 triumph.
With two road matches remaining, the Lady Flames finish the regular season with a 6-5 record at home. Liberty improves to 3-0 all-time against the Hilltoppers.
Liberty 4, Western Kentucky 1
Singles Competition
1. Yoanna Radulova (LIBERTYW) def. Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
2. Sofia Blanco (WKU) def. Daniella O'Neill (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 7-5
3. Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) vs. Mariana Zegada (WKU) 5-7, 6-4, unfinished
4. Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) vs. Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
5. Celina Joseph (LIBERTYW) def. Emily Schut (WKU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Sadie Daavettila (LIBERTYW) def. Elizabeth Sobieski (WKU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. Daniella O'Neill/Maria Turchetto (LIBERTYW) def. Sofia Blanco/Rachel Hermanova (WKU) 6-3
2. Yoanna Radulova/Anika Lemus (LIBERTYW) vs. Emily Schut/Mariana Zegada (WKU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Celina Joseph/Yu-Yun Chen (LIBERTYW) def. Elizabeth Sobieski/Sunskrithi Damera (WKU) 6-1
Western Kentucky 13-8 (2-2)
Liberty 10-11 (4-1)
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,6,2,1)
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Radulova (8-7) secured her first singles win since March 2 (6-2, 6-3 vs. UNCG). In that stretch, the freshman had an 0-3 record in seven matches.
- Joseph (9-10) extended her winning streak to four singles matches. She is undefeated (4-0) in five CUSA matches.
- Liberty has secured the doubles point in eight of its past 10 matches.
Up Next
Liberty (10-11, 4-1 CUSA) wraps up the regular season on the road at Louisiana Tech (13-8, 3-0 CUSA) on Friday at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT and Sam Houston (5-8, 0-4 CUSA) on Sunday at 11 a.m. ET/10 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Rachel Hermanova / 0 [WKU]
64
76
#2 Singles Match
12
Sofia Blanco / 0 [WKU]
67
45
#3 Singles Match
123
Mariana Zegada / 0 [WKU]
740
56UF
#4 Singles Match
123
Sunskrithi Damera / 0 [WKU]
450
64UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Emily Schut / 0 [WKU]
11
66
#6 Singles Match
123
Elizabeth Sobieski / 0 [WKU]
611
366
Order of Finish:
5,6,2,1
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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