Saturday, May 2
Charlottesville, Va.
11:00 AM ET
Liberty University
vs
Washington
Liberty Opens NCAA Championship Against Washington
5/1/2026 11:10:00 AM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – In their first-ever NCAA Women's tennis Championship appearance, the Lady Flames (16-9) will take on Washington (19-5) on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the first round of the regional in Charlottesville, Va., hosted by Virginia. The match will be played at the Boar's Head Sports Club
Liberty secured its first-ever conference title in its 26-year history two weeks ago, claiming the Conference USA title with a 4-0 win over Delaware. The team secured four wins in four consecutive days to claim the championship.
Head Coach Dash Connell was named the 2026 CUSA Head Coach of the Year in his second season at the helm in Lynchburg. Liberty claimed multiple CUSA postseason honors, highlighted by Milana Tsulygina being named the CUSA Freshman of the Year.
Liberty and Washington will meet for the first time on Saturday. The winner of the contest will take on the victor of No. 7 seed Virginia and Saint Francis on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lady Flames have also never faced Saint Francis or Virginia.
Washington (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten) currently carries a No. 22 ITA National Ranking. The No. 5 seed Huskies exited the Big Ten Championship in the quarterfinal by No. 4 seed UCLA with a 4-1 defeat.
CUSA Champs
Season Showcase
Boar's Head Sports Club
Liberty secured its first-ever conference title in its 26-year history two weeks ago, claiming the Conference USA title with a 4-0 win over Delaware. The team secured four wins in four consecutive days to claim the championship.
Head Coach Dash Connell was named the 2026 CUSA Head Coach of the Year in his second season at the helm in Lynchburg. Liberty claimed multiple CUSA postseason honors, highlighted by Milana Tsulygina being named the CUSA Freshman of the Year.
Liberty and Washington will meet for the first time on Saturday. The winner of the contest will take on the victor of No. 7 seed Virginia and Saint Francis on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lady Flames have also never faced Saint Francis or Virginia.
Washington (19-5, 9-4 Big Ten) currently carries a No. 22 ITA National Ranking. The No. 5 seed Huskies exited the Big Ten Championship in the quarterfinal by No. 4 seed UCLA with a 4-1 defeat.
CUSA Champs
- Liberty faced a long road, starting as the No. 6 seed and requiring four wins to claim the title.
- The Lady Flames opened the event with a 4-0 sweep of No. 11 seed Missouri State before edging out a 4-1 triumph over Kennesaw State.
- In the semifinal against No. 2 seed FIU, facing a 3-3 dual score tie, Maria Turchetto remained the only match playing on court two. She fought back from a 5-2 deficit to force a tiebreak and fell into a 4-1 hole in the tiebreak. Turchetto advanced the Lady Flames with a gritty 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5) triumph.
- Liberty met No. 4 seed Delaware, who ousted No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech the previous day. After dominating the doubles round, the Lady Flames earned wins from Tsulygina (No. 4 singles) and Lemus (No. 6 singles). Turchetto became the focus for a second consecutive day, securing a 6-3, 6-3 triumph to claim the championship title.
- Turchetto was named the Singles Player of the Championship, along with inclusion on the Doubles Team of the Championship with Yoanna Radulova.
- Liberty showcased multiple athletes in the 2026 CUSA Postseason Honors.
Season Showcase
- Liberty sports a combined 82-46 mark (.641) and an overall 40-24 (.625) doubles record.
- Milana Tsulygina leads Liberty with an 18-4 singles record. The freshman is currently tied for the third-most spring season wins in program history. With one more triumph, she will have the most singles wins in a dual since the program's history (18-Maria Juilana Parra Romero, 2022).
- Celina Joseph sports a 16-5 singles record and carries a team-best five-match singles winning streak.
- O'Neill leads the Lady Flames in the No. 1 singles slot with a 10-7 mark.
- The Lady Flames dominate the bottom of the singles lineup with a collective 47-19 (.712) mark. They are led by Tsulygina (11-3 at No. 4), Joseph (9-0 at No. 5) and Lemus (4-2 at No. 6).
- Liberty went 4-for-4 in the doubles round through the CUSA Championship. Before the event, the Lady Flames went 0-for-5 in the doubles round.
- The Lady Flames No. 1 doubles pair of Radulova and Turchetto went 4-0 in the conference tournament, currently sporting a 12-8 mark, all in the top doubles slot.
- The No. 2 pair of O'Neill and Tsulygina owns a 13-8 record, the most of any pair on the team.
Boar's Head Sports Club
- Follow 'event parking' signs after entering through the main gate.
- Parking adjacent to the courts will not be available.
- Streaming will be available via PlaySight on the outdoor courts.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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Coach Connell & Daniella O'Neill Garcia Give An Update On The Women's Tennis Season
Thursday, April 09
Coach Schwandt & Benjamin Sparks Talk About The Win Over Elon
Saturday, April 04
Coach Connell Talks About The Win Over Delaware
Saturday, January 24