OWENSBORO, Ky. - The Lindsey Wilson women's tennis team has held the title of Mid-South Conference Tournament champions every season since 2005, and 2021 was no different. On Sunday, the No. 2-seed Blue Raiders defeated top-seed Cumberlands (Ky.) 4-2 to retain possession of the conference crown.

No. 16 Lindsey Wilson (15-2) got revenge on the 15th-ranked Patriots (19-3) after Cumberlands won the regular season meeting by a score of 5-2 on April 1.

The Patriots took the first match of the contest in doubles competition when Laura Marie and Tessa Gray downed Reshma Challarapu and Carla Alibert 6-2 in the second-ranked match. The Blue Raiders fought back with a win in No. 1 doubles after the 11th-ranked pair of Lucia Mora and Alexandra Parra squeaked out a 6-4 victory over Tomomi Nagao and Mikaela Fros.

With the first point of the match on the line, Parisa Rachdanone and Salome Sposetti fought hard against Johanna Beckmann and Satsuki Mitani in an intense third-ranked doubles match. The two sides evened the set at 6-6, which led to a tiebreak set. Rachdanone and Sposetti surged ahead to win the tiebreak set 7-2 and hand Lindsey Wilson the doubles point.

No. 39 Rachdanone carried that momentum into singles play with a quick 6-1, 6-2 win against Hana Shimeno in the fourth-ranked match to build the Blue Raider lead up to 2-0. Cumberlands got its first point soon after when Marie overcame Challarapu 6-1, 6-2 to take a point in No. 3 singles.

Mitani tied the score with her sixth-ranked match win of 6-4, 7-5 versus Alibert, but Mora, the 36th-ranked player in the NAIA, pushed Lindsey Wilson back in front after a competitive second-ranked singles match battle with Fros. Mora was ahead after a 6-4 first set, but Fros fought back in the second, which she won 6-7 (7-9). Fortunately, Mora took control in the final set and grabbed the Blue Raiders third point with a 6-1 third set win.

Just one point away from victory, Sposetti sealed the contest with her 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 comeback in No. 5 singles over Beckmann. No. 23 Nagao was ahead of No. 21 Parra 4-6, 6-1, 3-2 when play was concluded in the first-ranked match due to Lindsey Wilson having already earned the four points needed to win.

With the victory, the Blue Raiders secured the MSC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament, which begins on May 18. Lindsey Wilson now waits to see what seed it will draw for the competition.