CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University women's tennis team captured its eighth straight Mountain East Conference regular season title with a commanding 6-1 defeat of rivals Charleston on Thursday afternoon. This is the 11th regular season conference title in 14 seasons for the Yellow Jackets dating back to the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

For the first time ever, the Golden Eagles were picked to win the MEC in the preseason poll with every first-place vote but their own. West Virginia State had lost its perennial No. 1 player in senior Kiersten Hensley to graduation and there was doubt that WVSU could stack up against a strong UC squad this year.

Freshman Abigail Wild quickly filled in at the No. 1 spot and rose to the No. 23 ranking in Division II women's singles in no time. Meanwhile, Gaya Solomon, Chante Malo, Hanna Kruhlova, Maya Haidari, Emily Moore, Sydney Miller and Graziele Preterotto all returned to remind opponents how good they were and push their team forward.

Head Coach John Simms scheduled a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for big matches like this one. The 8-6 overall record posted by the Yellow Jackets in 2021 made those who did not know better underestimate them. West Virginia State remained undefeated in league play, 6-0, with the victory over UC.
 
Match Results
West Virginia State University def. Univ. of Charleston (West Virginia) 6-1

S1: Abigail Wild def. Alexiann Drouin 6-2, 6-0
S2: Gaya Solomon def. Barbara Balancho 7-5, 6-0
S3: Chante Malo def. Haarini Balakrishnan 6-4, 6-4
S4: Hanna Kruhlova def. Julia Lif 6-4, 6-1
S5: Maya Haidari def. Aida Montero 6-0, 6-0
S6: Mathilde Simon (UC) def. Emily Moore 6-3, 6-3
D1: Chante Malo / Gaya Solomon def. Julia Lif / Haarini Balakrishnan 6-4
D2: Abigail Wild / Emily Moore def. Alexiann Drouin / Aida Montero 6-3
D3: Hanna Kruhlova / Maya Haidari def. Mathilde Simon / Barbara Balancho 6-4
 
Next Up
May 1-2: 2021 MEC Women's Tennis Tournament (Schoenbaum Courts/Charleston, W.Va.)