College of Charleston 4, Appalachian State 3

 

BOONE, N.C. ? The Mountaineers’ comeback came short as the Appalachian State University women’s tennis team fell to the College of Charleston, 4-3, in Southern Conference play, Saturday at the ASU Stadium Tennis Courts.

With the loss, Appalachian falls to 10-5 on the season and 3-2 in SoCon play, while the College of Charleston improves to 10-8 overall and 5-1 in league action.

The Cougars started off with a 1-0 lead after sweeping the doubles flight, 3-0. CofC quickly extended its lead to 2-0 after Chelsea Albertz defeated ASU’s Monica Tomas (Valado De Frades, Portugal), 6-2, 6-4, at No. 2 singles.

Junior Anja Gugger (Cary, N.C.) pulled the Mountaineers within one at 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Maxine Capewell at No. 1 singles. The Cougars’ lead became 3-1 after Payten Ellington took down senior Lyndsey Free (Marietta, Ga.), 6-2, 7-5, at the No. 5 position.

Senior Victoria Moody (Irmo, S.C.) again pulled ASU within one point of CofC with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Amanda Becker at No. 3. With the score at 3-2, the Cougars’ Ashley Finnegan pulled out a hard-fought, 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over Salem Kirven (Greensboro, N.C.) at the No. 4 position to clinch the match for the visitors.

Sophomore Frances Blanton (Raleigh, N.C.) used three sets to defeat Jenna Marks, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 at No. 6 singles.

The Mountaineers return to Southern Conference play as they host Davidson, Sunday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. at the ASU Stadium Tennis Courts.

College of Charleston (CofC) 4, Appalachian State (ASU) 3
Saturday, April 1, 2006
ASU Stadium Tennis Courts
Doubles
1) Albertz/Ellington (CofC) def. Tomas/Blanton (ASU), 8-4
2) Capewell/Finnegan (CofC) def. Free/Gugger (ASU), 8-2
3) Marks/Becker (CofC) def. Kirven/Moody (ASU), 8-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1) Anja Gugger (ASU) def. Maxine Capewell (CofC), 6-3, 6-1
2) Chelsea Albertz (CofC) def. Monica Tomas (ASU), 6-2, 6-4
3) Victoria Moody (ASU) def. Amanda Becker (CofC), 6-4, 6-3
4) Ashley Finnegan (CofC) def. Salem Kirven (ASU), 6-2, 7-6 (6)*
5) Payten Ellington (CofC) def. Lyndsey Free (ASU), 6-2, 7-5
6) Frances Blanton (ASU) def. Jenna Marks (CofC), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
*Match clincher
Order of finish: 2, 1, 5, 3, 4 (clincher), 6

 

Chattanooga 5, Furman 2

 

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Furman women's tennis team won the doubles point and four of six singles matches Saturday to defeat UTC 5-2 in a Southern Conference match.

Claiming singles victories for UTC were Anastasia Zhukova and Lindsey Ballard at positions No. 1 and 2 respectively.

Zhukova remained undefeated in SoCon play and ran her overall singles record to 18-1 with a 0-6, 6-4, 10-6 win over Laura Gioia.

Ballard won her team-high 10th match in a row with a 3-6, 6-3, 10-5 victory over Marti Morris.

Ballard and Zhukova also teamed up to win their ninth consecutive doubles match, defeating Gioia and Morris 8-4.

Furman, who improved to 11-6 overall and 5-0 in the league, easily won the final four singles matches, winning each by identical scores of 6-0, 6-1.

UTC, now 8-11 and 1-6, travels to Tennessee Tech Tuesday for a 2:30 p.m. match.

Furman 5, Chattanooga women 2
April 2, UTC Tennis Complex, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Doubles (for one team point)
1. Ballard/Zhukova (UTC) d. Gioia/Morris (FUR), 8-4
2. Jacqueline Eckert/Osborne (FUR) d. Bragato/Knizat (UTC), 8-4
3. Moore/Lisa Bornt-Davis (FUR) d. Adams/Parris (UTC), 8-4

Singles
1. Anastasia Zhukova (UTC) d. Laura Gioia (FUR), 0-6, 6-4, 10-6
2. Lindsey Ballard (UTC) d. Marti Morris (FUR), 3-6, 6-3, 10-5
3. Lauren Osborne (FUR) d. Talita Bragato (UTC), 6-0, 6-1
4. Shannon Moore (FUR) d. Maureen Parris (UTC), 6-0, 6-1
5. Bonnie Baird (FUR) d. Bonnie Adams (UTC), 6-0, 6-1
6. Lauren Tomory (FUR) d. Beata Knizat (UTC), 6-0, 6-1

Team records: UTC (8-11, 1-6 SoCon); Furman (11-6, 5-0 SoCon)

 

East Tennessee State 5, Davidson 2

 

Johnson City, Tenn. -- Davidson couldn't find the winning touch against its former conference foe in the East Tennessee State women's tennis team as the Wildcats dropped their second match in a row for the first time this year by the score of 5-2 on Saturday at the Memorial Center. The Wildcats dropped to 12-7 overall, while the Lady Bucs bumped their record to 18-4 on the year.

The Lady Bucs started the afternoon off by sweeping the Wildcats in doubles action to take a 1-0 lead going into singles play. The No. 3 doubles team of junior Kate Levitt and freshman Lora Dushanova were the closest to a win, falling 8-6 to Sandie Knight and Elena Volobueva.

In singles action, Dushanova then saw her nine-match win streak come to an end as the Lady Bucs took four of the six matches to secure the 5-2 win. Dushanova, who recently was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for women's tennis, dropped a 7-5, 7-5 decision to Vita Moskaliova at No. six singles.

Davidson did get wins from its No. 1 and No. 3 singles players when sophomore Kelsey Linville defeated Masha Ilina, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 1 and sophomore Kim Whelan took down Volobueva with a hard fought three-set win, 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 in the No. 3 position.

The Wildcats will remain on the road when they head to Boone, N.C. for a SoCon match against Appalachian State on Apr. 2 at 12:30 p.m.


ETSU 5, Davidson 2

Doubles
1- Ilina/Ziolkowska (ETSU) def. Linville/Whelan (DC), 8-5
2- Batsula/Byrne (ETSU) def. Powel/Fanney (DC), 8-3
3- Knight/Volobueva (ETSU) def. Levitt/Dushanova (DC), 8-6

Singles
1- Kelsey Linville (DC) def. Masha Ilina (ETSU), 6-2, 6-3
2- Olya Batsula (ETSU) def. Michele Fanney (DC), 6-3, 6-2
3- Kim Whelan (DC) def. Elena Volobueva (ETSU), 7-5, 3-6, 6-0
4- Sandie Knight (ETSU) def. Kate Levitt (DC), 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
5- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Meredith Skeeters (DC), 6-3, 6-1
6- Vita Moskaliova (ETSU) def. Lora Dushanova (DC), 7-5, 7-5

 

Wofford 4, Campbell 3

 

Freshman Ashley Page rallied at the No. 4 singles position for a win to clinch a 4-3 triumph by the Wofford women's tennis team against visiting Campbell Saturday afternoon at the Reeves Tennis Center in Spartanburg, S.C.

Page, who dropped the first set, won the next two sets and held serve in the third frame to garner a 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 victory vs. Liza Bensimon. The win proved to be the clinching point, as the match was tied 3-3 with the decision pending in the contest.

Senior Ellen Rogers also picked up a singles triumph for the Terriers, recording a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Scarlet Alfonzo at the No. 1 slot.

Her win kept her even with sophomore Adriane Hodges for the team lead in victories, as Hodges tallied a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Anita Dajc at the No. 5 seed. Both Wofford players have collected a team-high 12 singles wins on the campaign.

The Terriers also claimed the doubles point, as the No. 1 and No. 3 pairs were victorious. Rogers teamed with fellow senior Tara Hartness for an 8-1 triumph against Alfonzo and Nina Surviladze at the No. 1 position for their team-high 12th doubles win.

The No. 3 Wofford duo of sophomore Lauren Prickett and freshman Cayley Wetzig garnered an 8-1 win vs. Dajc and Stacey Batkiewicz.

"Today, we had a good non-conference win," said head coach Rod Ray. "We had to fight hard and it was fun to watch the team work through a tough match. We are still getting better which says a lot about this team."

Overall, the Terriers have won four-in-a-row to improve their mark to 12-7, while the Fighting Camels fall to 12-6 on the season. Wofford heads to the West Coast for a pair of matches this week over spring break, starting with a 4:30 p.m. (EST) Tuesday match at Azusa Pacific in Azusa, Calif. Also slated on the road swing is a 5 p.m. (EST) Wednesday contest at Cal State-Northridge in Northridge, Calif.

Campbell will return to action at 1 p.m. Monday when it hosts South Carolina State.

Wofford 4, Campbell 3

Singles
No. 1 Ellen Rogers (WOF) def. Scarlet Alfonzo (CAMP), 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Iva Stojancev (CAMP) def. Tara Hartness (WOF), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 3 Nina Surviladze (CAMP) def. Cayley Wetzig (WOF), 0-6, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 Ashley Page (WOF) def. Liza Bensimon (CAMP), 5-7, 7-6, 6-3
No. 5 Adriane Hodges (WOF) def. Anita Dajc (CAMP), 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 Tanya Ahuja (CAMP) def. Lauren Prickett (WOF), 7-6, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 Hartness/Rogers (WOF) def. Alfonzo/Surviladze (CAMP), 8-1
No. 2 Bensimon/Stojancev (CAMP) def. Hodges/Page (WOF), 8-4
No. 3 Prickett/Wetzig (WOF) def. Stacey Batkiewicz/Dajc (CAMP), 8-1

 

Georgia Southern 5, Elon 2

 

ELON, N.C. ? Georgia Southern captured four singles matches and two doubles contests, upending Elon for a 5-2 Southern Conference women's tennis victory Saturday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.

The Phoenix (6-10 overall, 1-5 SoCon) earned a doubles win at No. 1 when Elizabeth Kernodle and Whitney Butcher turned back Molly Maddox and Lauren Wolken 8-3. The Lady Eagles (5-11, 2-4) claimed the doubles point after posting victories by Kim Wollett and Heather Reynolds at No. 2 (over Kelly Fleck and Alli Benton 8-1) and Szilvia Zsakay and Jessica Matlosz at No. 3 (over Melissa Holland and Katie Nicholson 8-5).

Georgia Southern racked up singles wins by Zsakay at No. 1 (over Fleck 6-4, 6-3), Wollett at No. 4 (over Butcher 6-4, 6-4), Reynolds at No. 5 (over Benton 6-1, 6-2) and Emma Knight at No. 6 (over Nicholson 6-2, 6-1). For Elon, Kernodle topped Maddox 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 while Holland beat Wolken 6-3, 7-5 at No. 3.

The Phoenix will host Southern Conference rival Davidson at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The Lady Eagles visit non-league foe Winthrop at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Charlotte 6, UNC Greensboro 1

UNC Greensboro 6, North Carolina A&T 1

GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro split a women’s tennis doubleheader on Saturday, falling to Charlotte, 6-1, in the morning and rallying for a 6-1 win over cross-town rival North Carolina A&T in the evening.

 

Sophomore Erica Zabkar won both of her singles’ matches for UNCG. The Atlanta, GA native defeated Charlotte’s Ali Piacente, 6-1 and 6-4, and North Carolina A&T’s Deandra Bailey, 6-1 and 6-0. Zabkar has now won seven of her last eight, with the lone loss coming when she retired due to injury.

 

Zabkar’s straight set win against A&T was one of five by the Spartans. The Aggies’ lone point came when UNCG defaulted at No. 6 singles.

 

UNCG closes out the regular season with three straight road matches. The Spartans visit Davidson on Thursday at 3 pm.