FHSU Athletics

Fort Hays State tennis dropped a conference match to 19th-ranked Southwest Baptist on Thursday at the FHSU Tennis Courts in Hays. SBU took the match by a score of 7-2 with FHSU picking up its wins by forfeit.

Led by the top ranked player in the region, Fanni Varga, who is also ranked No. 20 nationally, the Bearcats won all seven of the matches contested on the afternoon. SBU has four individuals in the top 20 of the region rankings, but only three were in action on Thursday as their second-best individual, Christina Zentai, was out of the lineup.

The No. 1 doubles team of Camille Caron-Bedard and Michelle Miller fell 8-0 to the region’s 10th-ranked team of Lani Tuemmers and Maria Josie Zehnder. The No. 2 team of Brittney Ricci and Katie Hipp fell 8-3 to Varga and Zorana Jovanovic. Jessica Johnson and Raven Dick received a forfeit win at No. 3 since SBU had only five players available for the dual.

In singles play, Varga defeated Caron-Bedard at No. 1, 6-1, 6-0. Zehnder blanked Ricci at No. 2 6-0, 6-0. At No. 3, Tuemmers defeated Miller 6-0, 6-2. At No. 4, Beatrix Federer defeated Hipp 6-2, 6-1. At No. 5, Jovanovic defeated Johnson, 6-0, 6-2.

The Tigers will be in search of their first MIAA win on Saturday when they host Lincoln University at 10 am.