Furman 5, South Florida 2
TAMPA, Fla. ? Competing against its fifth ranked opponent in as many matches, the Furman women's tennis team knocked of No. 55 South Florida, 5-2, at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts on Friday afternoon. The Paladins (1-4) won the critical doubles point for the first time this season, winning all three doubles matches. The Bulls dropped to 0-3 on the season.
Each of Furman's doubles pairs recorded their first wins of the season. Jennifer Betts and Lauren Tomory posted an 8-4 win over Natalie Guevara and Jessica Sweeting at the number two position. Jessica Preeg and Susan Bitetti pulled out an 8-6 decision over Ally Mueller and Lauren Shumate at number three, and Laura Gioia and Monica Arguello matched the score in their victory over Jessica Zok and Iciri Rai at the top spot.
The Paladins dominated play in their singles victories. Furman picked up straight set wins at number one, two and five singles, dropping only a total of six games combined in those three matches. Gioia, ranked ninth in the country, won her second straight match with a 6-1, 6-1 win over #102 Zok. No. 37 Arguello cruised by Sweeting, 6-1, 6-0, at number two. At number five, Tomory defeated Mueller, 6-1, 6-2. Furman's final singles victory came at the number three spot. Junior Jessica Preeg battled back after dropping the first set for a 2-6, 6-4, 10-6 win.
Furman is back in action Saturday when the Paladins face #26 Florida State at 11:00 a.m.
Central Florida 7, Georgia Southern 0
ORLANDO, Fla. ? The Georgia Southern women’s tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision Friday afternoon (Feb. 13) to Central Florida. The Lady Eagles now stand at 3-3 overall, while the Knights pushed their record to 3-2.
The Knights jumped off to a 1-0 early lead after securing the doubles point with victories at all three seeds, dropping only three games between the three matches. In singles action, the Knights quickly took a 3-0 lead by dropping only four games in straight set victories between the two and six seeds, respectively. Kena Belbacha clinched the victory for the Knights at the five seed with a straight set, 6-1, 6-2 win over Shea Huxtable.
Melanie Rolle fought hard from the three seed, pushing her decision into a match tiebreaker. Rolle notched the first set over Alexis Rodriguez, 6-4, but the deficit was quickly erased as Rodriguez took the second set by a matching 6-4 tally. The three seed went into a match tiebreaker as Rolle pushed Rodriguez, but fell 10-7. With the score at 5-0, Kristi Kegerreis pushed Elvira Serrot to the limit in the second set at the one seed. After dropping the first set, Kegerries forced a second set tiebreak. Serrot went ahead 6-1 before Kegerreis pushed the tiebreak to 6-4, but Serrot sealed the match moments later.
The Lady Eagles are back in action as they travel to face Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, February 14. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.
Garner-Webb 5, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford women’s tennis team fell to the visiting Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs 5-2 on Friday afternoon at the Reeves Tennis Center in Spartanburg, S.C. The Terriers are now 0-3 on the year.
“We had a tough loss today, but have definitely shown a lot of improvement over our previous matches. Gardner-Webb out played us in doubles and several of the singles matches today, and deserved the win,” noted Head Coach Katie Hangstefer.
Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. On court one, Cayley Wetzig and Sabrina Smyers nearly escaped with a victory as they were defeated in a tiebreaker 8-7 (8-6). On Courts two and three, the Runnin’ Bulldogs only needed to one break to secure the win taking each match by an 8-5 mark.
In singles the Terriers put up a tough fight but were unable to prevail. At number one, Wetzig had a solid outing for the Terriers as she easily defeated Kriett 6-4, 6-1. Haley Baird also had a great showing at number three singles running through her opponent 6-1, 6-1. However, Wofford could not find a win on another court as Gardner-Webb took the remaining four matches.
Hangstefer stated, “Cayley played very confidently today with a lot of energy as she finished with a win at #1. Haley also had a strong showing at number three as she came through with a win as well. She has shown a lot of improvement over last year already, and I think that she will just continue to work hard and get better. We were very excited to have Kristin Demosthenes playing her first match of the season at number four, and I think she is a great addition to our team!”
Wofford will be back in action on February 21, 2009 as they travel to Greenville, N.C. to take on the Pirates of East Carolina.
Georgia State 6, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For the second-consecutive match, the Samford women’s tennis team was forced to play without sophomore Lindsey Mallory and the Bulldogs fell short in a non-conference home contest. On Friday, Samford was defeated by Georgia State, 6-1, at the Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion.
The Bulldogs (0-2) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point, but Georgia State (3-2) then bounced back to win all six singles contests. With their 6-1 victory, the Panthers snapped a two-match losing streak after recently falling to both Alabama 4-3 and 26th-ranked Florida State 5-2.
In Friday’s doubles competition, Samford earned wins on both courts No. 1 and No. 2.
The Bulldogs’ combination of Taylor Morgan and Stephanie Parkison streaked to an 8-4 win in the No. 2 doubles match, while Samford’s Rebecca Kirven and Andrie Meiring fought to an 9-8 (5) victory against Georgia State’s Martina Nitkova and Katerina Gresova on court No. 1.
With their win, the Bulldogs’ duo comprised of Morgan and Parkison improved to a perfect 2-0 record this season.
The Samford women’s tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 2 p.m., as the Bulldogs play host to the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in a highly-anticipated in-state matchup to be held at the Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion.