Samford 5, Appalachian State 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford women’s tennis team tallied its third Southern Conference triumph in four matches Saturday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 5-2 win over the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a key league matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the victory, Samford (6-8, 3-3 SoCon) earned its second-straight league win this week. On Wednesday, the Bulldogs registered a similar 5-2 triumph on the road at Chattanooga.
Against Appalachian State (6-12, 1-4 SoCon), Samford won the doubles point and added tallies in singles play with four straight-set victories from Taylor Morgan, Andrie Meiring, Stephanie Parkison and Jessica Diamond. The Bulldogs’ 5-2 win equaled their best margin of victory in SoCon play this season.
Samford earned the doubles point Saturday with wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2.
In the No. 1 doubles match, the Bulldogs’ combination of Morgan and Parkison earned an 8-1 victory over the Mountaineers’ duo comprised of Gisela Fernandez and Olivia Stannard. On court No. 2, Samford’s tandem of Meiring and Diamond bageled Appalachian State’s partnership of Laura Janke and Blakely Bean, 8-0, to clinch the doubles point.
The Bulldogs’ Meiring and Diamond have been victorious in nine-consecutive doubles contests and have not been defeated this season.
In singles play, Samford won all four of its matches in straight sets. On court No. 1, Morgan earned her fourth-straight victory with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over Appalachian State’s Amanda Cash, while Meiring defeated Caroline Mauch on court No. 2, 6-0, 6-0.
The Bulldogs also tallied singles wins on courts No. 3 and No. 4. In the No. 3 matchup, Samford’s Parkison rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Appalachian State’s Blakely Bean, while the Bulldogs’ Diamond knocked off Lindsey King 6-2, 6-2, on court No. 4.
UNC Greensboro 7, Wofford 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? Alejandra Guerra won her 11th straight singles match and Lucy Dougherty won for the 11th time in her last 12 matches as UNC Greensboro rolled past Wofford, 7-0, in Southern Conference women’s tennis action.
Both played perfect singles matches, winning by identical 6-0, 6-0 scores, as the Spartans moved to 10-5 on the year and 5-1 in league play.
Guerra, ranked No. 82 in the country and the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year, moved to 16-0 in her career against conference foes with an easy win over Cayley Wetzig to set the stage for her showdown on Sunday with Furman’s Laura Gioia. Gioia is ranked No. 15 in the nation in this past week’s ITA rankings. Guerra defeated Gioia in last year’s meeting.
UNCG also got three-set singles wins by Valerie Behr, Arielle VonStrolley and Jessica Eblen, along with a retirement win by Britney Cloer, to complete the victory.
College of Charleston 7, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team swept Western Carolina, 7-0 in Southern Conference action on Saturday
With the win, the Cougars improve to 19-3, 7-0 in the Southern Conference and extend their winning streak to 11 matches. Western Carolina falls to 4-12 overall, 0-7 in the SoCon with the loss.
CofC returns to action on Thursday, April 9th when they host Furman beginning at 12:30 p.m.
The Cougars won all three matches contested at doubles to earn a team point, then won each of the six matches in singles, five of which were in straight sets, to take the match.
Charleston was led in singles by Caroline Newman, who was shutout Ainhoa Iglesias 6-0, 6-0 in the number two spot and Kinsey Casey, who also won 6-0, 6-0 over Emily Turke at number five singles.
Other winners on the day included Anna Lee Evans, who was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at the number two spot over Layne Arnold and Keely Mulligan was a 6-0, 6-1 victor against Chelsea Best.
Nina Burgoon rounded out the straight set winners for the Cougars with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Katie Berry in the number six spot, while Laura Borza completed the sweep with a hard-fought three set (6-7, 7-6, 10-6) win at number one singles over Izabella Glinska.
Georgia Southern 6, Chattanooga 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women’s tennis team improved its win-streak over Chattanooga to seven consecutive matches Saturday afternoon (April 4) with a 6-1 Southern Conference win at the Hanner Tennis Complex. The Eagles recorded the win with the doubles point and five singles victories, improving their overall dual record to 12-5 and
6-2 in the SoCon. The Lady Mocs dropped their second straight, falling to 5-12 and 1-6.
Georgia Southern captured the doubles point for the first time in three matches this afternoon with wins at the one and three seeds. Kristi Kegerreis and Ali Beavers walked away with an 8-2 triumph at the top spot first to give the Eagles the doubles advantage. Clinching the team point for Georgia Southern was the tandem of Shea Huxtable and Jessica Fuller at the three seed, recording an 8-4 victory over Shaina Singh and Charlotte Bossy. UTC took the doubles match at the two spot with an
8-7(2) victory.
In the afternoon singles competition, the Eagles continued dominating the court, clinching the team victory with the first three matches to finish. Sophomore Beavers now stands at 17-8 overall this season after winning a 6-2, 6-1 contest over Jennemieke van der Veek. The Kingsport, Tennessee native boasts an 11-4 mark from the No.2 spot. Senior Huxtable pushed the Eagles to within one match of clinching the victory when she walked away from the six seed with a straight set 6-1 triumph over Lady Moc Brianna Wishing. Huxtable improved to 9-1 competing at the six spot and 7-1 in conference action.
Now on an 11-match win streak, sophomore Rolle clinched the team victory for Georgia Southern at the four seed. Rolle, who hails from Gainesville, Fla., captured a 6-4, 6-3 decision in the match clinching win to improve to a perfect 12-0 from the four spot and 8-0 against conference opponents.
Jessica Fuller also posted a 6-1,6-1 straight set win over Annie Green from No.5 before the Lady Mocs earned its lone victory at the three seed. With the match score at 5-1, Kegerreis closed out play topping Singh from the No.1 court in a 7-5,6-4 fashion.
Furman 7, Elon 0
Elon, N.C. ? The Furman women’s tennis team won every match on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Elon Phoenix, 7-0, in Southern Conference action at the James Powell Tennis Center. The Lady Paladins (11-7, 6-0) have given up only one total point over six SoCon matches this season. Furman remains unbeaten in its last 94 regular-season league contests. The loss dropped the Phoenix to 9-10 on the season and 3-4 in SoCon play.
Furman’s Lauren Tomory and Jennifer Betts opened competition with an 8-2 win over Elisa Simonetti and Lauren Sessems at number two doubles. With an 8-3 mark over Anna Milian and Paige Kensrue, Lady Paladin pair Laura Gioia and Monica Arguello improved to 6-0 against SoCon opponents. Finally, Furman’s Jessica Preeg and Susan Bitetti picked up their ninth win of the season with an 8-2 defeat of Daleen Kloppers and Hayley Wahl.
Tomory continued her winning ways in singles action, extending her unbeaten streak to 12 straight with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Sessems at number five. At the top position, Gioia improved to 13-4 on the season with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat of Milian. Arguello grabbed her 12th victory of the season, topping Kensrue, 6-0, 6-3. Betts and Bitetti also earned straight-set wins to contribute to the Furman victory. In a hard-fought match, Preeg fought back from a set down to defeat Simonetti, 6-7 (8), 7-5, 10-7.