MU tennis team gets revenge on Cincinnati

After losing to Cincinnati this past season, the Thundering Herd tennis team got the revenge it was looking for Saturday as it defeated the Bearcats 7-2.

Coach Laurie Mercer said the victory was good for Marshall. "It was a good win because we lost to Cincinnati last year," she said. "They have a good No. 1 player and they're solid all the way through their lineup. They have really good depth."

Although Marshall's No. 1 player Anna Mitina fell in her singles match, the Thundering Herd was able to take a 4-2 lead after singles competition before the doubles teams went 3-0 to secure the win.

Mercer said she was pleased with the play of both the singles and doubles teams, especially the play of junior Ana Ceretto and Karolina Pierko.

"Ana Ceretto is playing extremely well in both singles and double and Karolina Pierko is starting to come around and play better. I think that's making a big difference."

Mercer said she hopes Mar-shall's results against Cincinnati, combined with the Bearcats' results against Mid-American Conference teams, will bode well for her team.

"Cincinnati beat Eastern Michigan the night before our match and Bowling Green a few weeks before," she said. "Both of those teams are among the top in the conference, so hopefully that's a good sign that we'll be right in the hunt for the MAC championship."

Marshall, 8-3, will take on North Carolina State Thursday and Florida International on Saturday in a dual match in Miami. Mercer said she hopes the recent wins against Old Dominion and Cincinnati will help the team's confidence in upcoming matches.

"After the Old Dominion match, our ranking went from No. 102 to No. 86 in the nation," she said, "so hopefully with the good matches against them and Cincinnati, the momentum will carry over."