Mountain Brook, AL – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s tennis team not only secured its 15th win of the season following a 5-2 ASUN Conference victory against Jacksonville State, Saturday, at the Mountain Brook YMCA, it also clinched a top-four seed and home postseason match in the upcoming ASUN Conference Women’s Tennis Championship next week.
Despite dropping her first eight games from the No. 6 position, freshman Asia Fontana rallied in her second set to win its tiebreaker 7-3. She then capped off the comeback and clinched the match with a 6-2 third-set victory. Fontana is the first known player in program history to drop her first eight games but come back to win their match.
Due to Saturday’s late start, the match began with singles play and was played to clinch; therefore, doubles was not played as Fontana’s point was Austin Peay State University’s fourth of the night.
Austin Peay State University (15-5, 6-2 ASUN) and Jacksonville State (14-7, 4-4 ASUN) split the first two points of the afternoon. Freshman Melody Hefti improved to 7-1 in ASUN play and 16-3 on the season following her 6-3, 6-3 win from No. 3 singles, while sophomore Denise Torrealba fell in a three-set decision to JSU’s Ana Syrova, 6-1, 5-7, 5-7.
The Gamecocks took the lead for the first and last time of the night after defeating redshirt junior Jana Leder, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 from the No. 1 court. The loss ended a five-match winning streak for Leder and is just her fourth loss of the spring.
Sophia Baranov came back after dropping a 6-2 first set to claim 6-1, 6-2 wins in her second and third sets, respectively. The win is her 17th in the last 18 matches and improves her to 17-2 on the season and 7-1 in league play.
Sophomore Yu-Hua Cheng won a pair of 7-5 sets to tie the match at three, while Fontana completed the comeback for the APSU Govs, earning them the No. 4 seed in the upcoming ASUN Championship.
Next Up For APSU Women’s Tennis
The Austin Peay State University women’s tennis team closes their regular season with a Tuesday 1:00pm match against Memphis at the Governors Tennis Courts before then hosting Queens for the first round of the ASUN Women’s Tennis Championship, on April 15th.
Austin Peay State University also welcomes No. 5 Liberty and No. 12 Bellarmine to Clarksville, Saturday. The Flames and Knights will face one another in a neutral-site match on April 15th with the winner facing the winner of the Governors and Royals matchup, on April 16th. Times are still to be determined.
Results vs. Jacksonville State
Doubles
Was not played
Singles
- Romane Mosse def. Jana Leder, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
- Anna Syrova def. Denise Torrealba, 1-6, 7-5, 7-5
- Melody Hefti def. Dariana Prato, 6-3, 6-3
- Sophia Baranov def. Zuzana Pavelekova, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
- Yu-Hua Cheng def. Ella Tuomela, 7-5, 7-5
- Asia Fontana def. Irene Artigas, 0-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
