Not only did Kat Lyman play a huge role in helping the Xavier women’s tennis team win its third consecutive Big East championship, she got to do it in her home state, and on the same courts where she won a high school state title.
Lyman, a redshirt junior from Mount Pleasant, won the No. 2 singles match and No. 1 doubles match Sunday as the Musketeers beat Creighton to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Lyman defeated Creighton’s Kate Krueger in singles, 6-3, 6-2, and teamed with Abby Nugent to beat the Blue Jays’ Malvika Shukla and Leanne Kendall in No. 1 doubles, 6-3, at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
It was Xavier's third Big East title in a row.
The NCAA Tournament selection show for women’s tennis is May 1.
Lyman transferred to the Cincinnati school from West Virginia, where she had 11 wins as a freshman in the 2019-2020 season.
A former Post and Courier All-Lowcountry Player of the Year, she was a standout at Mount Pleasant’s Oceanside Collegiate Academy after playing on Wando High School’s 2016 state championship team.
Lyman as a freshman helped Wando beat Boiling Springs for the state title, also held at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Center.
She made the South Carolina All-State Team while at Oceanside in 2019.
