Wednesday, March 19
Radford, Va.
2:00 PM
Radford University
4
vs
3
Longwood
Photo by: Rob Simmons
Clutch Comeback Effort Pushes Women’s Tennis Past Longwood in Conference Opener
3/19/2025 8:12:00 PM | Women's Tennis
RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's tennis program used a clutch comeback performance collecting four singles victories to defeat Longwood 4-3 and open Big South action with an 1-0 record.
To kick off Wednesday's conference opener match, the Highlanders would play from behind as Longwood would take the early 1-0 lead with wins on courts one and two for doubles. The pairing of Michaela Stephens and Brooke Murphy would take home a 7-5 win on court three before moving to singles.
Radford got its first point of the day behind a dominant win from Stephens who defended the top court with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Longwood would earn wins on court four and five, however, to take a 3-1 advantage, forcing Radford to need every remaining court.
Lexi Smolder would begin the Radford rally as she won decisively 6-3, 6-2 on court three. Following her, Rachel Ekanem pulled away after a tight first set to win on court six 7-6(4), 6-4. It was then Julia Abrams on court two who would complete the comeback for Radford, winning 6-4, 6-4 and putting Radford ahead for good in the match 4-3.
UP NEXT
Radford sticks to the home court for their next match, a nonconference bout with North Carolina Central. First serve is set for 2 p.m. this upcoming Saturday, March 22nd with live stats available on RadfordAthletics.com
Follow Women's Tennis on Social Media
For more information on the Radford Women's Tennis team follow @RadfordWTennis on X and Instagram, as well as Radford Women's Tennis on Facebook.
To kick off Wednesday's conference opener match, the Highlanders would play from behind as Longwood would take the early 1-0 lead with wins on courts one and two for doubles. The pairing of Michaela Stephens and Brooke Murphy would take home a 7-5 win on court three before moving to singles.
Radford got its first point of the day behind a dominant win from Stephens who defended the top court with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Longwood would earn wins on court four and five, however, to take a 3-1 advantage, forcing Radford to need every remaining court.
Lexi Smolder would begin the Radford rally as she won decisively 6-3, 6-2 on court three. Following her, Rachel Ekanem pulled away after a tight first set to win on court six 7-6(4), 6-4. It was then Julia Abrams on court two who would complete the comeback for Radford, winning 6-4, 6-4 and putting Radford ahead for good in the match 4-3.
UP NEXT
Radford sticks to the home court for their next match, a nonconference bout with North Carolina Central. First serve is set for 2 p.m. this upcoming Saturday, March 22nd with live stats available on RadfordAthletics.com
Follow Women's Tennis on Social Media
For more information on the Radford Women's Tennis team follow @RadfordWTennis on X and Instagram, as well as Radford Women's Tennis on Facebook.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
VAN EIJKELENBURG,F / 0 [LU]
32
66
#2 Singles Match
12
RIZVANOVA,Karina / 0 [LU]
44
66
#3 Singles Match
12
IZARRA,Oriana / 0 [LU]
32
66
#4 Singles Match
12
MITCHELL,Phoebe / 0 [LU]
66
21
#5 Singles Match
12
MAGIA,Alexandra / 0 [LU]
66
24
#6 Singles Match
12
GNILOZUBOVA,E / 0 [LU]
64
76
Order of Finish:
4,1,5,3,6,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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