Women’s Tennis Defeats No. 9 Central Oklahoma

Box Score

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – West Alabama women's tennis team defeats No. 9 University of Central Oklahoma, 4-3 Saturday morning at Ward Tennis Complex in a non-conference match.

"This match was a huge test, and I am very proud of how our women competed," head coach Jeff Beaman said. "We had match points for the doubles points and lost it. We were down in the match at times but kept battling against a very good team."

The Tigers improve to 4-0 overall and gave the Bronchos their third loss of the season, bringing them to 2-3 overall.

In singles play, Hardija Vidnere took the lead quick on No. 4 court and won the first point for the Tigers. Haina Franco tied the overall score by winning on No. 1 court. Heden Ly secured another win for the Tigers on No. 3 court. UCO fought back by winning on No. 5 court. Ming Deewajee gave the Tigers the winning point on No. 6 court.

UCO came out strong winning the doubles points. Two out of three doubles to a 7-point tiebreaker where the Tigers and the Bronchos split a point.

West Alabama 4, Central Oklahoma 3

Singles Competition

Haina Franco (UWA) def. Pete Komada (UCO) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Blythe Buntrock (UCO) def. Yurie Takanishi (UWA) 6-4, 6-4
Heden Ly (UWA) def. Nefeli Zafeiri (UCO) 3-6, 7-6, 6-3
Hardija Vidnere (UWA) def. Karina Yurchenko (UCO) 6-0 6-3
Nikki Boyar (OCU) def. Emiri Takanishi (UWA) 6-4, 6-0
Ming Deewajee (UWA) def. Tizia Brocks (UCO) 6-4, 6-2

Order to Finish: 4, 2, 5, 1, 3, 6

Doubles Competition

Blythe Buntrock/Nikki Boyar (UCO) def. Haina Franco/Ming Deewajee (UWA) 7-6
Tizia Brocks/Karina Yurchenko (UCO) def. Emiri Takanishi/Yurie Takanishi (UWA) 6-3
Heden Ly/Hardija Vidnere (UWA) def. Nefeli Zafeiri/Pete Komada (UCO) 7-6

Order to Finish: 2, 3, 1

The Tigers will return to the court on Sunday against Southern Arkansas. First serve is set for 9 a.m. at Live Oak Tennis Courts in Magnolia, Arkansas.

To stay connected with UWA Tennis, follow the University of West Alabama Tennis Instagram page, General athletic news along with game recaps and box scores can be found at UWAAthletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Haina Franco: 5' 3"; Fifth Year

Heden Ly: 5' 5"; Junior

Emiri Takanishi: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Hardija Vidnere: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Yurie Takanishi: 5' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

Haina Franco
: 5' 3"; Fifth Year

Heden Ly
: 5' 5"; Junior

Emiri Takanishi
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Hardija Vidnere
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student

Yurie Takanishi
: 5' 9"; Senior