UNC Greensboro 6, Chattanooga 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - UNC Greensboro won three singles matches in straight sets as it cruised to a 6-1 win over Chattanooga in women's tennis action to open Southern Conference play on Saturday.
Alex Whitehead, Stephanie Macfarlane, and Annette Rios all swept their matches in straight sets as UNCG ran its record to 5-1 on the spring. Whitehead topped Jenna Nurik by identical 7-5 scores at No. 1 singles, while Macfarlane handled Shaina Singh, 6-4 and 7-5, at No. 2 singles. Rios won at No. 5 over Jennifer Taylor, 7-5 and 6-2.
The Spartans also swept all three doubles matches, including an impressive 8-0 win by Stephanie Macfarlane and Alex Whitehead at No. 1 doubles, blanking Emily Hangstefer and Grace Robinette.
UNCG returns to action on Tuesday when the Spartans visit Charleston Southern for a 2 p.m. match.
Georgia Southern 7, Western Carolina 0
STATESBORO, GA - On USTA Campus Kid's Day at the Hanner Tennis Complex, Georgia Southern jumpstarted Southern Conference play not dropping a match en route to a 7-0 sweeping of the Catamounts (March 6). The Eagles used the doubles sweep to take an early lead and captured all six singles matches in straight sets to secure the win. Georgia Southern improved to 5-4 overall and 1-0 against league opponents, while Western Carolina dropped to 1-2, 0-1.
A sweep of the doubles matches provided early momentum for Georgia Southern heading into singles play. The Eagles dropped only eight games in three matches for the doubles point. Kristi Kegerreis and Christine Caforio paired up at No. 3 for an 8-2 victory, before Ali Beavers and Natalie Maffett secured the point with an 8-3 decision at the top position. Ashley Hungerford and Melanie Rolle completed the sweep from No. 2 with the point already decided.
Only seven games were dropped before Georgia Southern clinched the match using three singles matches. Allison Beeler, competing at No. 6, crushed Emily Turke, 6-1, 6-0, before Kegerreis downed Izabella Glinska, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 3 putting the Eagles on the brink of victory. Hungerford clinched the match for GS at the four seed. The junior bypassed Ainhoa Iglesias Diaz, 6-1, 6-3, as the match stood at 4-0 Georgia Southern.
The Eagles added three more singles victories before the match concluded. Junior Rolle pushed her win streak to three matches with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Amanda Massey at the two seed. Fellow classmate Beavers pushed the score to 5-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Carolina Lainez at the top seed, 6-1, 6-4.
Senior Jessica Fuller completed match play from No. 5. Battling against Karen Jimenez Sarmiento, Fuller won her fourth dual singles match of the season with a 6-1, 7-5 decision.
Georgia Southern continues this six-match homestand on Friday, March 12 welcoming conference foe UNC Greensboro to Statesboro. First serve at the Hanner Tennis Complex is slated for 2 p.m.
Davidson 5, Case Western Reserve 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Davidson women¹s tennis team got back on the winning track with a 5-2 win over Case Western Reserve in a non-conference match on the campus of College of Charleston.
Davidson improved to 6-2 on the season and snapped their two-match losing streak. Case Western Reserve, which also played Charlotte during the day, fell to 4-4.
Katharine Dicconson led the way as she improved her singles win streak to three straight and also picked up a doubles win (8-1) with Samantha Galainena at No. 3 as Davidson opened the match with a sweep of all three doubles matches.
Virginia Berry and Teresa Wang recorded their team-best fifth doubles win with an 8-4 decision at No. 1 and the pair of Alison Rauh and Ali Gores scored an 8-0 win at No. 2.
Singles play saw the Wildcats take four of the six matches to seal up the win. Dicconson gave up just one game to Kathleen Evers at No. 4 as she rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win. She sits at 3-0 on the season.
Berry's and Wang's singles matches were equally impressive, as they scored identical 6-1, 6-0 wins at No. 1 and 3.
Earning the last point for Davidson, and her first career singles win, was Catherine Wood at No. 6. She cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Corey Bowen.
Also seeing her first action of the year in singles play was Molly Verlin, who nearly gave Davidson its sixth point. She opened up her match vs. Cheyenne Chambers with a 6-2 win, but dropped the second match, 6-1. Since the match points were decided, they played a super tiebreaker and Verlin came up just short in falling 13-11.