Saturday, April 5
Radford, Va.
11:00 AM
Radford University
2
vs
5
Gardner-Webb
Photo by: Rob Simmons
4/5/2025 2:18:00 PM | Women's Tennis
RADFORD, Va. – The Radford women's tennis program fell to Gardner-Webb 5-2 Saturday afternoon with Lexi Smolder and Rachel Ekanem highlighting with their singles wins.
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Prior to the match, Radford honored their two seniors on the roster Julia Abrams and Lexi Smolder. The pairing have been dominating on the Radford home courts since 2021.
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The doubles point was tight and competitive between the two teams as matches on courts one and three bounced back and forth. Gardner-Webb would take court two and use a comeback on court one to take the 1-0 lead. On court three, Brooke Murphy and Michaela Stephens rallied to earn a 6-4 victory.
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In singles, Gardner-Webb would clinch the match with wins on courts four, five and one. On court three, Lexi Smolder put a point in Radford's column with a dominant showing. For her senior day, Smolder took the first set 6-3 thanks to a late rally. After being tied 4-4 in the second set, Smolder dug deep and won the next two games to seal the win 6-3, 6-4.
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Over on court six, Ekanem also dug deep for her win. After dropping the first set, Ekanem rallied in set two winning 6-3. In a tiebreaker third set, she fell behind early but hung tough to seal the 1-6, 6-3, 1-0(8) win on court six finishing the match in a 5-2 final.
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UP NEXT
Radford will be back in action in one week's time for the regular season finale. In a match with major postseason implications, Radford visits Presbyterian for a 1 p.m. start.
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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.
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Prior to the match, Radford honored their two seniors on the roster Julia Abrams and Lexi Smolder. The pairing have been dominating on the Radford home courts since 2021.
Â
The doubles point was tight and competitive between the two teams as matches on courts one and three bounced back and forth. Gardner-Webb would take court two and use a comeback on court one to take the 1-0 lead. On court three, Brooke Murphy and Michaela Stephens rallied to earn a 6-4 victory.
Â
In singles, Gardner-Webb would clinch the match with wins on courts four, five and one. On court three, Lexi Smolder put a point in Radford's column with a dominant showing. For her senior day, Smolder took the first set 6-3 thanks to a late rally. After being tied 4-4 in the second set, Smolder dug deep and won the next two games to seal the win 6-3, 6-4.
Â
Over on court six, Ekanem also dug deep for her win. After dropping the first set, Ekanem rallied in set two winning 6-3. In a tiebreaker third set, she fell behind early but hung tough to seal the 1-6, 6-3, 1-0(8) win on court six finishing the match in a 5-2 final.
Â
UP NEXT
Radford will be back in action in one week's time for the regular season finale. In a match with major postseason implications, Radford visits Presbyterian for a 1 p.m. start.
Â
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.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
66
23
#2 Singles Match
12
66
24
#3 Singles Match
12
34
66
#4 Singles Match
12
66
10
#5 Singles Match
12
66
12
#6 Singles Match
123
630
161
Order of Finish:
4,5,1,3,2,6
Sunday, November 01
Saturday, October 31
Tuesday, October 27
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