Wednesday, April 15
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
11:00 AM ET ET/10:00 AM CT
Liberty University
vs
No. 11 seed Missouri State
No. 6 Seed Women’s Tennis Prepares for 2026 CUSA Championship
4/14/2026 11:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 6 seed Liberty women's tennis team (12-9) will open the 2026 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship, taking on No. 11 seed Missouri State (4-15) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT
The event begins in Murfreesboro, Tenn., hosted by Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, with the championship final on Saturday. The semifinal and final rounds will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Liberty has competed in a single match against a CUSA foe. The Lady Flames bested the tournament's No. 4 seed Delaware, 7-0, in January.
The Lady Flames came up short in the CUSA Championship as the event's host site and the No. 5 seed in the semifinal round to eventual champion, No. 1 seed FIU. In its only other CUSA Championship, No. 2 seed Liberty finished as runners-up to the tournament host, No. 1 seed FIU.
Lady Flames News & Notes
Athletes At-a-Glance
Daniella O'Neill Garcia—Redshirt Junior (Dorado, Puerto Rico)
Maria Turchtto—Junior (Florianopolis, Brazil)
Yoanna Radulova—Sophomore (Plovdiv, Bulgaria)
Milana Tsulygina—Freshman (UFA, Russia)
Celina Joseph— Sophomore (Malmesbury, South Africa)
Anika Lemus—Sophomore (Guatemala City, Guatemala)
Yee Ching 'Candy' Wai—Junior (Hong Kong)/Tyler Junior College
The event begins in Murfreesboro, Tenn., hosted by Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, with the championship final on Saturday. The semifinal and final rounds will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Liberty has competed in a single match against a CUSA foe. The Lady Flames bested the tournament's No. 4 seed Delaware, 7-0, in January.
The Lady Flames came up short in the CUSA Championship as the event's host site and the No. 5 seed in the semifinal round to eventual champion, No. 1 seed FIU. In its only other CUSA Championship, No. 2 seed Liberty finished as runners-up to the tournament host, No. 1 seed FIU.
Lady Flames News & Notes
- Liberty finished the regular season with a collective 70-42 (.625) singles record and a 32-22 (.593) doubles mark.
- The Lady Flames have secured the doubles point in 11-of-21 matches. Liberty has dropped the doubles point in the last five matches.
- Liberty has deployed Maria Turchetto and Yoanna Radulova in the No. 1 doubles position in every match this season. They own an 8-8 record together.
- The Lady Flames' pair of Daniella O'Neill and Milana Tsulygina owns the most wins with an 11-7 mark and a 10-7 record in the No. 2 doubles slot.
- The Lady Flames do most of their damage at the No. 4 (15-5) and No. 5 (14-6) singles positions. Tsulygina (15-4) owns an 8-3 mark in the No. 4 spot, while Joseph (14-5) sports a 7-0 mark at No. 5.
- Tsulygina leads the team with a 15-4 singles mark.
- O'Neill (11-6) sports a 9-5 record in the No. 1 singles slot.
- Turchetto (10-7) finished the season at the No. 2 singles position, where she owns a 4-2 mark.
- Anika Lemus wrapped the regular season at No. 6 singles, boasting a 3-2 mark.
Athletes At-a-Glance
Daniella O'Neill Garcia—Redshirt Junior (Dorado, Puerto Rico)
- 11-6 singles record, 11-8 doubles mark (Tsulygina)
- 9-5 mark at No. 1 singles, 10-8 record at No. 2 doubles
- CUSA Athlete Player of the Week (Feb. 11)
- Best win— No. 29 Charlotte's Ni Xi at No. 1 singles, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- Owned a six-match winning streak at No. 1 singles (March 6-March 29)
- 2025 All-CUSA Singles second team, All-CUSA Doubles second team (O'Neill)
- 2024 CUSA All-Freshman team
Maria Turchtto—Junior (Florianopolis, Brazil)
- 10-7 singles record, 8-8 doubles mark (Radulova)
- 4-2 mark at No. 2 singles, 6-5 at No. 3, 8-8 at No. 1 doubles
- Two-time CUSA Doubles Pair of the Week (Jan. 28, March 4)
- Best win—Delaware's Amelia Gorman at No. 3 singles, 6-4, 6-3
- Owned a six-match doubles winning streak to begin the season (Jan. 16-Feb.7)
- 2025 All-CUSA Doubles second team (O'Neill)
- 2024 CUSA All-Freshman team
Yoanna Radulova—Sophomore (Plovdiv, Bulgaria)
- 5-11 singles record, 8-8 doubles record
- 2-2 at No. 1 singles, 3-7 at No. 2, 8-8 at No. 1 doubles
- Two-time CUSA Doubles Pair of the Week (Jan. 28, March 4)
- Best win— Delaware's Maryia Hrynahka at No. 1 singles, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6)
- 2025 All-CUSA Singles second team
Milana Tsulygina—Freshman (UFA, Russia)
- Team-best 15-4 singles record and 12-7 doubles record (O'Neill)
- 4-0 at No. 3 singles, 8-3 at No. 4, 10-7 at No. 2 doubles
- CUSA Athlete of the Week (Jan. 28)
- Best win— No. 29 Charlotte's Lucia Aranda, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-0
- Owned a five-match singles winning streak (March 13-April 3) at No. 3 and No. 4
Celina Joseph— Sophomore (Malmesbury, South Africa)
- 14-5 singles record, 9-4 doubles mark (Wai)
- 7-0 at No. 5 singles, 6-5 at No. 6, 8-2 at No. 3 doubles
- Best win— USF's Francesca Miglio at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 7-6 (6)
- Went on a 7-1 stretch in singles (Jan. 23-March 1), ended the year 5-1 (March 15-April 10)
- 2025 ALL-CUSA Doubles second team
Anika Lemus—Sophomore (Guatemala City, Guatemala)
- 4-2 singles record, 5-3 doubles mark (Wai)
- 3-2 mark at No. 6 singles, 5-3 at No. 3 doubles
- Three-match winning streak at No. 6 singles in five appearances
- 2025 CUSA All-Freshman team
Yee Ching 'Candy' Wai—Junior (Hong Kong)/Tyler Junior College
- 9-7 singles record, 9-6 doubles mark
- 6-2 at No. 3 singles, 8-5 at No. 3 doubles
- Best win— ETSU's Niyati Kukreti at No. 5 singles, 6-4, 6-3
- Five-match singles winning streak at No. 4 and No. 5 (Feb. 17-March 8)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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