Williamsburg, KY - The Patriots played host to Campbellsville in a matchup that saw the two teams fight for the win Wednesday afternoon. The contest between UC and the Tigers was one that had major MSC implications as the winner likely finishes second in the conference while the other third. Cumberlands was able to do more than enough to help propel them to the win in the 5-2 victory.
Doubles play went to Campbellsville with them taking two of the three bouts. UC ended up grabbing a lead early on with Meiri Okuwaki and Tessa Gray finishing at #2 first with a 6-1 win, but things did not go UC's way the rest of the way with the Tigers taking a 1-0 lead.
Tomomi Nagao helped even up the score once singles commenced with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Orianna Espinoza Mendoza at #1. Orianna is ranked 31st in the NAIA per the ITA, but she proved to be no match for the 14th ranked individual in Nagao who grabbed the first win of the match for UC.Catherine Rae's match at #3 was next to finish with the Tigers once again claiming a lead as Campbellsville's Ariadna Perez took home a 6-1, 6-0 win. Cumberlands then rattled off four straight wins as they began to overpower their counterpart. Johanna Beckmann was the first claim a win at the #4 spot with a convincing 6-0, 6-2 win to knot things up at 2-2.
Okuwaki's match at #2 against Angela Mendoza proved to be the one that turned the tide for UC and helped them get the momentum they needed to help push them to victory. Meiri won the first set 6-4 but then ended up on the other end of that same score in her next stanza to force a deciding third set. Okuwaki ended up being involved in long volleys with Mendoza as neither player seemed willing to give in. Eventually, Meiri made a few key shots to help her jump in front and keep her there as she finished on top by a count of 6-3 to make it a 3-2 lead for the Patriots.
Next to finish was Fan Shaiu out of the #6 spot with her victory helping UC claim the win. Fan was in complete control during her first canto, winning 6-0. She had more of a competitive bout on her hands in the second but her Tiger counterpart ended up falling all the same by a final tally of 6-3 to clinch UC's fifth conference win. Hana Shimeno's match at the #5 spot was the last to finish with her win acting as the cherry on top of a very competitive contest. Shimeno had a tough task on her hands in the form of Campbellsville's Madison Hill as the two were within a point of one another throughout. Eventually, Hana won 7-5 in the first set before wearing down her opponent to win 6-4 in the second.
UC will get some time to recuperate from this one as they are not set to hit the courts again until next Wednesday, April 6th, when they take on UT Southern. That matchup with the Firehawks will be played at home, acting as the Patriot's senior day, and is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
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