Match 19
Score: Lipscomb 4, Kennesaw State 3
Records: Kennesaw State (5-14, 1-5), Lipscomb (6-16, 2-4)
Up Next: Friday, April 21 vs. NJIT, 12 p.m. (ASUN Tournament First Round)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Cristina Perez-Martin and Jessica Cantrell won singles matches, and the Owls won another by default, but Lipscomb escaped with a 4-3 victory over the Kennesaw State's women's tennis team on Saturday in Nashville.

Saturday's match was the regular-season finale for both teams, but both are headed to Fort Myers for next week's ASUN Tournament. The Owls (5-14, 1-5 ASUN) are the No. 6-seed, while the Bisons (6-16, 2-4) are the fifth seed.
 
Perez-Martin finished off a hard-fought, three-set victory at No. 2, coming from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to tie the match at 3-3 with one match remaining. But Lipscomb's Thabile Tshatedi clinched the victory when she beat Kennedy Craig at No. 4 in a three-setter, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
 
"With the conference tournament around the corner, we needed to put in a decent team performance, which we did today," said Assistant Head Coach Miranda Foley. "Although we fell short on the overall result, we at least gave ourselves a chance to get the job done. Jessica has been our most consistent performer all year and it showed again today with her taking care of business. Kenny and Cristina also fought well."
 
Lipscomb won the doubles point and picked up a win at No. 1 singles. Cantrell gave the Owls their second point of the day (the No. 6 singles match was defaulted to KSU) when she rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 over Jaclyn Findlay at No. 5.
 
Kennesaw State battles No. 3-seed NJIT next Friday at Florida Gulf Coast in the ASUN Tournament First Round. The other first-round match-up is No. 4 Stetson vs. No. 5 Lipscomb. Both those matches begin at 12 p.m. The byes are awarded to No. 1 FGCU and No. 2 North Florida.

Singles
1. Dzyuba (LIP) def. Alexandra Mercado (KSU), 6-0, 6-0
2. Cristina Perez-Martin (KSU) def. Gamage (LIP), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. Buberl (LIP) def. Laura Hopton (KSU), 6-2, 6-0
4. Tshatedi (LIP) def. Kennedy Craig (KSU), 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
5. Jessica Cantrell (KSU) def. Findlay (LIP), 6-0, 6-1
6. Aspen Jarrett (KSU), won by default

Doubles
1. Dzyuba/Buberl (LIP) def. Alexandra Mercado/Elle Baker (KSU), 6-2
2. Tshatedi/Gammage (LIP) def. Cristina Perez-Martin/Laura Hopton (KSU), 6-3
3. Jada Tijani/Jessica Cantrell (KSU), won by default

Order of finish: Doubles (1,2). Singles (1,5,3,2,4)

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