Friday, January 16
Auburn, Ala.
6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM CT
Liberty University
vs
Western Carolina
Women’s Tennis Opens Season with Two Road Matches, Takes on No. 4 Auburn
1/15/2026 1:33:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty women's tennis team opens the season on the road with two matches in Auburn, Ala., meeting Western Carolina on Friday at 6:30 PM ET and No. 4 Auburn (2-0) on Sunday at 11 AM ET.
The Lady Flames look to build off last season's 12-13 record in head coach Dash Connell's second year leading the team. Liberty wrapped the season in the CUSA Championship semifinal.
Liberty returns six athletes from last season, including their No. 1 singles player, Yoanna Radulova. The team welcomes two transfer additions in Diana Ilie (Georgia Gwinnett) and Candy Wai (Tyler Junior College), along with two freshmen Aranai Martinez (Spain) and Milana Tsulygina (Russia).
The Lady Flames will meet both their opponents for the first time in program history. No. 4 Auburn will be the highest-ranked team that Liberty has faced in program history. The Tigers reached the final four of the 2025 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship last season as the No. 9 seed.
Lady Flames News & Notes
The Lady Flames look to build off last season's 12-13 record in head coach Dash Connell's second year leading the team. Liberty wrapped the season in the CUSA Championship semifinal.
Liberty returns six athletes from last season, including their No. 1 singles player, Yoanna Radulova. The team welcomes two transfer additions in Diana Ilie (Georgia Gwinnett) and Candy Wai (Tyler Junior College), along with two freshmen Aranai Martinez (Spain) and Milana Tsulygina (Russia).
The Lady Flames will meet both their opponents for the first time in program history. No. 4 Auburn will be the highest-ranked team that Liberty has faced in program history. The Tigers reached the final four of the 2025 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship last season as the No. 9 seed.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Liberty returns six athletes who contributed to 100 of 119 singles matches (.840) last spring. The returners consist of five CUSA All-Conference selections, including Singles first team selections Radulova and Daniella O'Neill.
- The Lady Flames also welcome back Celina Joseph (doubles second team), Anika Lemus (All-Freshman team), Maria Turchetto (doubles second team) and Sadie Daavettila.
- The Lady Flames impressed this fall with a collective 32-27 singles mark and a 19-11 doubles record.
- Liberty saw strong performances from Joseph (8-5 singles), Radulova (7-3 singles and doubles), Wai (6-2 singles, 7-1 doubles) and Turchetto (7-5 singles, 8-4 doubles). O'Neill and Lemus did not participate in fall season action.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ 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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Thursday, April 17
Joaquim Almeida Talks About The Upcoming CUSA Tournament
Tuesday, April 15