Box Score COLUMBIA, Ky. – In the tennis version of the Battle of Highway 55, Campbellsville took on Mid-South Conference rival Lindsey Wilson College today. The Tigers were held to two wins, finishing with a 7-2 loss, while the Lady Tigers were defeated 9-0 by a Blue Raider team who is unbeaten at home this season.
The Tigers, newly ranked No. 17 in the NAIA, suffered in singles play as they dueled with some of the top-ranked players in the country. Campbellsville's 38th-ranked Vladyslav Ladygin was defeated by No. 21 Denis Porcic in a 6-4, 6-1 loss. No. 29 Raul Mendez, the reigning MSC Player of the Week, defeated Alejandro Soriano 6-1, 6-2 in the second spot.
Viktor Ahlbeck also faced ranked competition in Lindsey's Ignacio Huertas. The No. 44 Blue Raider blanked Ahlbeck in the first set and defeated him 6-3 in the second.
Eduardo Mendoza got a win for the Tigers in the six spot when Javier Raya retired (6-4, 2-1) in the second set.
The first doubles match was top-notch competition for both teams as No. 7 Porcic/Mendez took on No. 11 Ladygin/Soriano. The Tigers could not gain ground and were overcome, 8-2. Mendoza and Noah Swencki managed five wins against their opponents in the third spot, but the brightest point of the day came from the pairing of Ahlbeck and Adrian Sabrojo. They defeated LWC's Tomas Deppiagio and Raya, 8-4 in the only match victory.
Tiger tennis drops to 6-5 (2-1 MSC). The No. 7 Blue Raiders push their win streak to five games, moving to 9-0, (2-0 MSC).
The Lady Tigers met a similar fate in their meeting with the No. 3 Blue Raider women. CU, which continues to receive votes in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, struggled against the LWC presence in singles.
Bolor Enkhbayar and Majella Nobile were knocked off in the top two singles matches with similar scores (6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, 6-2). Lindsey Wilson's No. 18 Jessica King took on Grace-Laura Rowe in the third spot, defeating her 6-1, 6-1. Jade Letheby was held scoreless by her 31st-ranked opponent, Fiona Curty.
Doubles play saw a tough matchup between Henar Munoz/Natalia Kattah and Enkhbayar/Rowe. CU fought hard, winning six sets, but dropped the match 8-6.
King/Curty took down Nobile/Letheby 8-3 in the second, while Maria del Mar Prados paired with Alexandra Shchipakin to defeat Elizabeth Boik and Sarah Coffman, 8-1.
Campbellsville women's tennis drops to 2-7 (0-2 MSC). The third-ranked Blue Raiders move to 8-4 (2-0 MSC).
Tiger and Lady Tiger tennis continue their season on Saturday, April 2 as they host non-conference opponent Indiana Wesleyan. First serve for each match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET.
