Elon 7, Western Carolina 0
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Elon swept its way through all three doubles bouts and all six singles matches en route to posting a 7-0 Southern Conference women’s tennis triumph over Western Carolina ? the Phoenix’s fourth victory in five outings ? Sunday evening at Grove Park Inn.
At No. 1 doubles, Anna Milian and Paige Kensrue improved to 8-4 this spring ? 5-0 versus SoCon competition ? by staving off Amanda Massey and Ainhoa Inglesias 8-5. At No. 2 doubles, Elisa Simonetti and Daleen Kloppers downed Layne Arnold and Izabella Glinska 8-2. At No. 3 doubles, Melissa Wolf and Sally Wilkey beat Emily Turke and Chelsea Best 8-1.
Milian (over Glinska 6-3, 6-0 at No. 1), Kensrue (over Massey 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2), Simonetti (over Inglesias 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3), Whitney Butcher (over Arnold 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4), Wilkey (over Best 6-3, 6-0 at No. 5) and Hayley Wahl (over Turke 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6) all emerged victorious in singles action for Elon (8-7 overall, 3-2 SoCon).
Milian (7-5 this spring, 4-1 SoCon), Kensrue (6-6, 3-2), Simonetti (10-4, 5-0) and Butcher (7-1, 3-1) are off to strong starts in singles play this spring. The Phoenix will now face another SoCon opponent when College of Charleston visits the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The Catamounts (2-8 overall, 0-1 SoCon) will stop by SoCon foe Wofford at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
College of Charleston 4, Davidson 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team defeated Davidson, 4-3, in Southern Conference action at The Tennis Center at Patriots Point on Sunday.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in league play. Davidson fell to 4-7 and 0-2. The Cougars play host to a pair of matches on Monday. Charleston takes on Rutgers at 1 p.m. and Towson at 5 p.m.
The Cougars grabbed a 1-0 lead after sweeping the doubles point. Kinsey Casey extended Charleston's lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-0 decision over Samantha Galainena at No. 5 singles.
Keely Mulligan beat Katharine Dicconson 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles and Anna Lee Evans' 6-0, 6-3 win over Ali Gores at No. 4 secured the win.
For Davidson, Virgnia Berry beat Holly Dowse 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles, Michele Fanney earned a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 win over Laura Borza at No. 1 and Alison Rauh knocked off Caroline Newman 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 at No. 3.
Southern Mississippi 5, Samford 2
HATTIESBURG, Miss. --- The shorthanded Samford women’s tennis team dropped a hard-fought, non-conference matchup against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles on Sunday as the Bulldogs were forced to compete with only five healthy players in a 5-2 loss at Tatum Park.
With the defeat, Samford (2-6) suffered its third-straight setback and fell to 0-2 when playing on the road this season. During their recent slump, the Bulldogs have been forced to play without the efforts of sophomores Lindsey Mallory and Rebecca Kirven, both of whom are two of Samford’s top-four singles starters.
Despite their recent injuries, the Bulldogs won the top two singles matches Sunday against Southern Miss (3-7).
On court No. 1, Samford’s Taylor Morgan cruised to a straight-set victory over Southern Miss’s Elja Van Berlo, 6-3, 6-1, while the Bulldogs’ Andrie Meiring also breezed to a 6-2, 6-3 win against Alexandra Kaluza on court No. 2. Morgan and Meiring both improved to 4-4 in dual-match play this season.
Samford, which was forced to play with only two doubles teams Sunday, lost the doubles point to Southern Miss, but picked up a win on court No. 2.
In the No. 2 doubles match, the Bulldogs’ pair of Jessica Diamond and Meiring knocked off the Golden Eagles’ tandem of Hollie Robinson and Shannon Rogers, 8-6. Samford’s pair comprised of Diamond and Meiring extended their winning streak to three-consecutive victories.
Southern Miss earned the doubles point and won the bottom four matches in singles play to hold on for the final 5-2 victory.
The Samford University women’s tennis team will next be in action Monday at 1 p.m., as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., to host former Ohio Valley Conference-rival Murray State at the Samford Tennis Center.