Marshall Women’s Tennis picked up a 5-2 win over Dayton Sunday, April 12, battling both its opponent and the heat at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center.

Marshall got off to a strong start in doubles play. Alina Mokrynska and Polina Gumeniuk had a powerful opening against Dayton’s Natalie Osiecki and Montserrat Sierra, earning a 6-2 win to begin the afternoon. The pair came out ready to play and didn’t drop a point in the first three games of the set. 

That same energy was kept in the next doubles match. Thalia Smith and Nour El Ouazzani secured the doubles point and lead for Marshall with a 6-3 win against Dayton’s Haley Klein and Christian Chin. 

The singles started off slow with a 4-1 retirement from Sarah Copley in her match against Sierra but was quickly revitalized by one of the most dominant performances of the day by Smith. She won her match 6-0, 6-1, and her quick victory helped Marshall regain control of the lead.

Mokrynska and Gumeniuk took over on their respective courts and kept the Herd’s momentum going. Mokrynska earned a 6-2, 6-3 win and Gumeniuk followed her up with a 6-0, 6-2 victory. Their wins officially secured the match for Marshall as the team had built a heavy 4-1 lead at that point.

Head coach John Mercer pointed to Mokrynska’s and Gumeniuk’s performances as a major factor in Sunday’s outcome.

“Those two did a great job playing their doubles and then coming out and playing in singles and getting off to really good starts,” Mercer said. “They are showing that they are playing at a really high level, and that’s great to see as we get closer to the conference tournament.”

Even with the match already decided, play continued on the remaining courts. 

Ouazzani retired in her match against Baby Jordan, giving up another retirement point to Dayton, while Paula Berzina fought to close out the day. Berzina ended up adding another point for the Herd in a challenging three-set match. After losing a close first set in a tiebreak, she bounced back to win the second and held on in a tight final set tiebreak to finish the day with a win.

After the win, Marshall improves to 11-10 on the season as the team continues to build momentum late in the year in preparation for the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

The Herd will return to action Friday afternoon with a match against Miami (Ohio), which is currently scheduled to be played at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center.

Ella Hatfield can be contacted at [email protected].