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Women’s tennis remains undefeated
APRIL 1, 2021
Valencia dropped just one game in her two matches winning 6-1 and 6-0 against D&E’s Cara Long. WLU’s Ishika Agarwal saw the same outcome in the no.3 position while Agudelo avoided conceding a sinWLU Women’s tennis gle game with a shutout win at maintained their unbeaten streak no.4. Pena Aceves and Olson also in the MEC last Monday with a win posted convincing wins at no.5 and against Davis and Elkins College. no.6 respectively making it a very Head Coach Heather Gallagher’s successful day for the WLU ladies. squad posted five out of a possible Davis and Elkins’ sole sinsix wins in singles and won two out gles win came in the no.1 matchup of three of their doubles matches. from Taylour Newman against West The Lady Toppers are cur- Liberty’s Gemma Cliffe. The scorerently undefeated in the Moun- line was tight with Cliffe losing out tain East Conference and hold narrowly to Newman 7-5 and 6-4. a 6-1 record overall so far this The Lady Toppers are season with just a single defeat to now past the halfway point in their name from Carnegie Meltheir season with just six regulon University. Monday’s victory lar season competitions left beagainst the Senators has allowed fore the MEC tournament takes the Lady Toppers to consolidate place at the beginning of May. the conference top spot. This comes after the squad broke into The team is currently in a the regional rankings earlier this strong position to make a bid for month posting at no.5 following the conference title but will need a shutout win against conference to uphold their good form to do so. rivals Fairmont State University. Next up for the ladies is In doubles, Luisa Agudelo an away trip to the University of and Jacqueline Pena Aceves won Charleston who are currently sit6-2 at no.2 while Nathalia Valenting just behind the Toppers in the cia and Alex Olson breezed to a MEC standings and hold no.1 in the 6-0 at no.3 allowing the Hilltopregional ranks. In what is sure to pers to notch the doubles point. be a tight match-up, the ladies take In the no.2 spot in singles, last on the Golden Eagles on April 6. week’s MEC player of the week
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports Luisa Agudelo, Lady Hilltopper Tennis player
SPORTS
Fairmont State defeats WLU Softball West Liberty University’s softball team fell to Fairmont State University in a double-header on the road last Monday. The Lady Toppers gave the hosts a tough challenge but the Falcons were able to hold on to secure both wins 2-7 and 2-3. After finishing out-of-conference play at 2-4, with both wins coming against Salem University, West Liberty University proceeded to split their series with Notre Dame College (0-2 L, 4-1 W), sweep their doubleheader against Alderson Broaddus University (7-0 W, 5-0 W), and split their doubleheader against West Virginia State University this past weekend (0-3 L, 6-3 W). After falling to Fairmont state on-the-road on Monday, the ladies hold an overall record of 8-8 and are currently sitting fourth in the MEC. The in-conference success has been a collective effort from the Lady Toppers with exceptional work from Kat Donzella, Katie Beeman, Annie Patterson, and Riley Binnington. On the offensive side, Donzella and Beeman are the potent 1-2 punch the Hilltoppers rely on to produce the bulk of their
offense. At the three spot, Donzella is hitting .381 with 1HR and 8RBI with Beeman following, she is seeing herself produce a .452AVG and 12RBI. The combined firepower of the two sluggers are without a doubt a reason for the Hilltoppers success. On the pitching side, Patterson gives the Hilltoppers a consistent chance to win each time she steps on the mound. In 24IP, Patterson holds a 1.12ERA with just three runs surrendered. Binnington has also seen success in the 18 innings she has pitched, holding a 2.50ERA and a 3-1 record. Other players shining for the Hilltoppers include Allie Cook, Laural Saunders, Conner Assif, Haley Collett, Taylor Bonnett, and Makenzie Amend. With the remainder of the regular season games coming against in-conference opponents, it is critical that WLU continues their success they have shown early en-route to the championship game if they want to mimic their 2019 success. Next up for the Hilltoppers is a doubleheader at home against Frostburg State University. The Frostburg Bobcats currently hold the top spot in the MEC with a 6-3 record overall. The games will take place at 2 p.m. And 4 p.m. this Friday April 2. Come out to cheer on your Lady Toppers this Friday!
Photo Credits: Hilltopper Sports Annie Patterson in action at recent softball game
