Appalachian State 6, Georgia Southern 1

BOONE, N.C. ? The three Mountaineer seniors ended their home career in style, as the Appalachian State University women’s tennis team defeated Georgia Southern, 6-1, Saturday in Southern Conference play to clinch the No. 5 seed at the Southern Conference Championships.

With the win the Mountaineers end the regular season at 12-7 overall and 5-4 in SoCon play, finishing fifth in the league. The Eagles drop to 6-15 overall and 3-5 in the conference, clinching the No. 7 seed at the championships.

Appalachian started the match off strong, as the No. 1 doubles team of senior Lyndsey Free (Marietta, Ga.) and junior Anja Gugger (Cary, N.C.) defeated Lauren Wolken and Molly Maddox, 8-4. Georgia Southern responded with two straight wins to clinch the doubles point, winning at the second and third flights.

Staring singles play at a 1-0 deficit, the Mountaineers went on to sweep the singles round, to complete a 6-1 defeat of the Eagles. Free was the first Mountaineer to taste victory as she defeated Heather Reynolds, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 5 position.

Fellow seniors Salem Kirven (Greensboro, N.C.) and Victoria Moody (Irmo, S.C.) also picked up singles wins in their final home match of their careers. Moody defeated Wolken, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3, while Kirven used a tiebreaker for a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 win over Kim Wollett at the No. 4 position.

Gugger joined Free as the lone Mountaineers to win two matches on the day as the junior defeated Szilvia Zsakay, 6-4, 6-1, at the No. 1 spot. Freshman Monica Tomas (Valado De Frades, Portugal) picked up a win at the No. 2 position, defeating Molly Maddox, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1. Sophomore Frances Blanton (Raleigh, N.C.) won her 11th singles match of the season with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Emma Knight at No. 6.

The Mountaineers will return to action as they head to Charleston, S.C. for the Southern Conference Championships, April 20-23. First up for ASU is Wofford, which defeated Appalachian, 4-3 in Spartanburg March 25th.

Appalachian State (ASU) 6, Georgia Southern (GSU) 1
Doubles
1) Free/Gugger (ASU) def. Wolken/Maddox (GSU), 8-4
2) Wollett/Reynolds (GSU) def. Tomas/Blanton (ASU), 8-6
3) Zsakay/Jessica Matlosz (GSU) def. Kirven/Moody (ASU), 8-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles
1) Anja Gugger (ASU) def. Szilvia Zsakay (GSU), 6-4, 6-1
2) Monica Tomas (ASU) def. Molly Maddox (GSU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-1*
3) Victoria Moody (ASU) def. Lauren Wolken (GSU), 6-3, 6-2
4) Salem Kirven (ASU) def. Kim Wollett (GSU), 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
5) Lyndsey Free (ASU) def. Heather Reynolds (GSU), 6-1, 6-1
6) Frances Blanton (ASU) def. Emma Knight (GSU), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish: 5, 1, 3, 2, 4, 6
*Clinching match