Wake Forest 6, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? The Furman women's tennis team faced its fourth ranked opponent in as many matches, falling 6-1 to #33 Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon at Mickel Tennis Center. Furman falls to 0-4 on the season while the Demon Deacons improve to 6-1.
"Obviously we are starting off playing against a lot of ranked opponents," said Furman Head Coach Debbie Southern. "We are looking for improvement on the things we are working on and not focusing on the wins and losses. This kind of competition will help us in the long run. We have to stay focused on the process instead of the result."
Wake Forest swept the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 advantage in the match. After the Demon Deacons earned singles victories at number two and three, senior Laura Gioia put the Lady Paladins on the board. Ranked ninth in the country, Gioia earned her first win of 2009 season with a 6-2, 6-4 decision over #59 Sasha Kulikova. Wake Forest's Christian Tara clinched the match for the Deacons, winning a tight battle against Paladin freshman Susan Bitetti, 7-6 (6), 6-3, at number four singles.
"Laura was hungry to win and I think she was mentally tougher in this match," commented Southern. "She served well, mixed the ball up and moved really well. She forced her opponent to play a lot of balls."
Furman's schedule does not get any easier as the team heads on the road to face #56 South Florida on Friday, February 13 at 2 p.m.
Georgia Southern 5, Garndner-Webb 2
POWDER SPRINGS, Ga. ? Georgia Southern eased its way to a 5-2 victory over Gardner-Webb Saturday morning (Feb. 7) at Lost Mountain Park in Powder Springs, Ga. The win pushed the Lady Eagles to 3-2 overall this season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 1-3.
The Lady Eagles set the pace of the match early on in the doubles competition, taking the point and jumping out to the early 1-0 advantage. The Bulldogs took the first doubles match at the three seed over Shea Huxtable and Jessica Fuller, 8-6. But Georgia Southern quickly rebounded with a win from Kristi Kegerreis and Ali Beavers at the one seed. The Eagle duo put Georgia Southern on the board with an 8-4 win. Melanie Rolle and Christine Caforio sealed the doubles point for the Lady Eagles with a dominant 8-5 victory over Jenny Gomez and Tavenner Black at the two seed.
Rolle quickly gave Georgia Southern a 2-0 advantage with a convincing, 6-2, 6-1, singles win over Gouveia at the four seed. With a 6-3, 6-2 win by Huxtable at the six seed, the Lady Eagles found themselves within one win to clinch the match. Beavers sealed the win for Georgia Southern at the two seed. Beavers took down Gomez, 7-5, 6-1, to clinch the match for the Lady Eagles.
The Bulldogs put themselves on the board with a victory at the one seed by Kriett. But Georgia Southern went ahead 5-1 when Fuller came back from a set down to win her match at the five seed over Ellis. Fuller dropped the first set, 1-6, but claimed the second, 6-3, and crushed Ellis in the third, 6-0. Gardner-Webb closed out the match with a win at the three seed.
Georgia Southern returns to action when they travel to Florida to take on Central Florida, February 13. First serve is slated for 2 p.m.
East Carolina 5, Elon 2
Elon 7, Winston-Salem State 0
ELON, N.C. ? Paige Kensrue, Sally Wilkey, Laura Graybill, Whitney Butcher, Lauren Sessoms and Jessica Margolis all tallied singles victories as Elon split a non-conference women’s tennis doubleheader Saturday at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, falling to East Carolina 5-2 and shutting out Winston-Salem State 7-0.
Against the Pirates (1-0), Kensrue and Anna Milian overcame Jessica Cook and Varinia Soler 9-8 (8-4) at No. 1 doubles and Daleen Kloppers and Melissa Wolf staved off Brooke Walter and Rocio Cabanillas 8-5 at No. 2 to give the Phoenix (3-3) the doubles point. East Carolina prevailed at No. 3 when Tamara Sachs and Natalie Collins rallied past Butcher and Elisa Simonetti 9-7.
The Pirates bounced back from dropping the doubles point to capture five of the six singles matches. Cook held off Milian 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1, Walter bested Simonetti 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3, Collins outlasted Wolf 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4, Cabanillas slipped past Wilkey 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 10-8 at No. 5 and Sachs stopped Graybill 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6. Elon picked up a win at No. 2 when Kensrue beat Soler 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.
Against the Rams (0-1), Wilkey (over Shannon Loughnan 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1), Graybill (over Laken Joyce 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2), Butcher (over Gabrielle Benjamin 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3), Sessoms (over Dashawna Gibson 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4) and Margolis (over Amanda Bottoms 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5) all won on the singles scene. Elon emerged victorious at No. 6 singles by default.
In doubles action, Graybill and Sessoms topped Loughnan and Joyce 8-3 at No. 1 while Butcher and Margolis shut out Benjamin and Gibson 8-0 at No. 2. The Phoenix won by default at No. 3 doubles.
Western Carolina 6, Coastal Carolina 1
CONWAY, S.C. ? Western Carolina women’s tennis opened the 2009 season with a 6-1 loss to Coastal Carolina.
Freshman Izabella Glinstca picked up a point for the Catamounts at No. 2 singles. She defeated Coastal Carolina’s Tina Petkova 6-3, 7-6 (8-5). It was the only three set match of the day for Western Carolina.
In the opener against Western Carolina, Coastal Carolina swept all three doubles matches, losing just two games total between the three matches. Of the five singles match wins, the Chanticleers lost just eight games in those.
Western Carolina returns to action February 12 traveling to Asheville to take on rival UNC Asheville. Match time is set for 3 p.m.