ETSU women’s tennis defeats Lipscomb and Belmont this weekend 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 4, 2023) – ETSU women’s tennis had a “grand ole” time in Nashville this weekend, finishing with a pair of victories over Lipscomb and Belmont inside the Ensworth Tennis Center on Friday and Saturday. 

ETSU improves to a 4-3 overall record, finishing up a seven-match road stretch to open the spring season. Meanwhile, both Lipscomb (3-3) and Belmont (2-2) drop to even records this weekend.

Multiple Bucs went 4-0 over doubles and singles this weekend, including Maria Fernanda Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) who went 18-0 in singles and doubles against Belmont and allowed just seven points total on the weekend. Carvajal improves to a 5-2 record in both singles and doubles alongside Daniela Rivera (Maturin, Venezuela), who also finished the week undefeated.

Senior Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) led from the top spot with a doubles win over Lipscomb and a pair of top flight singles wins. She and Mariya Shumeika (Minsk, Belarus) won 6-2 at No. 1 doubles on Friday. In singles, Bakhodirova had the match-clinching point against Lipscomb.

Ralitsa Alexandrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) had a strong weekend, collecting her first singles wins as a Buc. Her No. 5 singles win over Lipscomb came in a 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) battle, while her win over Belmont came much more comfortably (6-0, 6-1). She and Yunuen Elizarraras (Cuernavaca, Mexico) clinched the doubles point against Belmont with a 6-1 win and Elizarraras went on to clinch the Belmont match for ETSU with her singles win.

Match 1: ETSU 6, Lipscomb 1 — Box Score

ETSU started the weekend with a 6-1 win over Lipscomb, sweeping the doubles point and winning five singles matches.

Bakhodirova and Shumeika made short work in No. 1 doubles with a 6-2 win, while Carvajal and Rivera won 6-3 to clinch the first point. Elizarraras and Alexandrova was locked in a tight battle at No. 3 doubles, leading 5-4 before the match was called.

In singles, Carvajal, Elizarraras and Bakhodirova locked up the match with three consecutive wins — all in straight sets. Neither player allowed more than two points in any of their singles sets. Not far behind those finishes was Rivera in the No. 4 spot with a 6-2, 6-0 win.

Lipscomb salvaged the shutout with a win at No. 2, but Alexandrova finished an exciting match at No. 5 with a 6-4, 7-6 tie-breaker win for her first spring singles victory as a Buccaneer.

The Bucs now own a 14-1 record against Lipscomb in matches dating back to 2006.

Match 2: ETSU 7, Belmont 0 — Box Score

ETSU dominated the doubles point to start things off on Saturday, this time winning the second and third flights. Carvajal and Rivera picked up their second win together with a 6-0 shutout, while Elizarraras and Alexandrova won 6-1 at No. 3. Bakhodirova and Shumeika led 4-3 before the point was clinched.

Carvajal impressed in singles with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep to complete the shutout trifecta — two sets of singles and one set of doubles without allowing a point — to win the No. 3 spot. Alexandrova had her most dominant singles win to date, defeating Libbie Hamilton by a 6-0, 6-1 final. Elizarraras clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 6 singles.

With the match in hand, Bakhodirova finished with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 1 singles and Rivera won 6-4, 7-5 in a tight battle at No. 4 singles. Shumeika ended the weekend with her first singles win since Hawaii, falling behind in the first set, 7-6, but winning the final two sets.

With the win, ETSU improves to 7-0 against Belmont since 2011. Five of the seven wins — including tonight — were shutouts.

Up Next

The Bucs will make their home debut next weekend with matches against Appalachian State on Thursday, Feb. 9 and Davidson on Saturday, Feb. 11 inside the Bristol Sportsplex in Bristol, Tenn. 

For more information on Buccaneer women’s tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.