College of Charleston 7, Wofford 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team picked up a 7-0 victory over visiting Wofford on Wednesday afternoon.
CofC (15-9, 8-0 SoCon) swept the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead over the Terriers (1-16, 0-6 SoCon). Senior Holly Dowse and junior Emma Hayman returned to the top spot after a one-match hiatus. The pair, ranked 31st nationally in the latest ITA poll, clinched the doubles point for CofC with an 8-3 victory for their sixth straight victory as the top-seeded doubles team.
Junior Kinsey Casey and freshman Irene Viana recorded the first win of the afternoon for the Cougars with an 8-1 win at the No. 2 spot. Senior Laura Borza and sophomore Caroline Newman completed the sweep at doubles with an 8-3 win on the third court.
Five Cougars earned singles victories in straight sets while Dowse won by retirement at the No. 1 spot. Viana snapped a four-match losing streak with an easy 6-1, 6-1 win at the No. 5 spot and junior Keely Mulligan followed with a 6-0, 6-1 victory as the sixth seed.
Charleston held a 4-0 lead after Casey defeated her opponent 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 3 spot. Casey is now 6-2 against Southern Conference opponents.
Borza's opponent stayed close at the No. 4 spot, but the Charleston senior outlasted her for a 6-4, 7-5 victory, and her fourth straight against a conference opponent. Newman finished the day with a 6-0, 6-2 route at the No. 2 spot. She leads the team with a 17-6 record in singles, including a perfect 8-0 conference mark.
Furman 7, Appalachian State 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman women's tennis team swept the singles and doubles matches as the Paladins defeated Appalachian State, 7-0, Wednesday afternoon at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
Paladin junior Monica Arguello defeated Ellie Linsell 6-0, 6-2 in the number one singles match, while freshman Lauren Kline beat Jennifer Ansari 6-2, 5-7, (10-0) in the second singles match. At number three singles, Paladin senior Jessica Preeg beat Olivia Stannard 6-1, 6-1, and at number four singles, freshman Michele Stanford posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Caroline Mauch. Sophomore Susan Bitetti beat Blakeley Bean 6-4, 7-5 in the fifth singles match, and junior Jennifer Betts recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win at six singles over Gisela Fernandez.
In doubles action, Kline and Arguello teamed up for an 8-4 win over Linsell and Stannard in the number one match, and Preeg and Betts combined to beat Bean and Laura Janke 8-0 in the second doubles match. At number three doubles, freshman Olivia Maurice and Stanford posted an 8-2 win over Ansari and Fernandez.
Georgia Southern 7, Mercer 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Competing in their last home match as Georgia Southern Eagles, seniors Christine Caforio, Jessica Fuller and Kristi Kegerreis all defeated their Mercer opponents en route to a 7-0 sweep over the Bears. Georgia Southern improved to 10-7 on the season with the win Wednesday afternoon (March 31), while Mercer dropped to 5-8.
"It was good to give our seniors a win today in their last home match," said head coach Amy Bonner. "We're all extremely proud of their accomplishments during the past four years and it was nice to see them get a win this afternoon."
Two seniors jumpstarted the afternoon with a win in doubles action. Caforio and Kegerreis downed Sarah Hanna and Stephanie Cohen, 8-4, at No. 3 to put GS with the early doubles lead. Ali Beavers and Natalie Maffett sealed the doubles point with an 8-6 decision over Jennifer Lada and Amalia Bugge at the top seed. The Florida tandem of Ashley Hungerford and Melanie Rolle completed the doubles sweep using a tiebreak win, 9-8 (8), at the two seed.
Mercer looked on pace to make a run in singles competition, grabbing three first sets, but the Eagles proved victorious, winning all three. Again two seniors immediately cushioned the Eagles' lead. Senior Jessica Fuller finished first at No. 6 putting Georgia Southern in front, 2-0. Fuller crushed Hanna, 6-1, 6-1, in her last home singles match before fellow classmate Kegerreis down Priscilla Dias, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 4.
On the brink of victory, Maffett would clinch the match at the three seed. Maffett suffered a first set loss, 6-3, to Bugge, but would draw even with a second set win, 6-1. The freshman took a 3-2 lead after her first of three breaks over Bugee in the final set. After holding serve to go up 5-2, Maffett created a chance to break her opponent for the match. Receiving at 5-2, Maffett quickly took a 0-30 advantage. Bugge showed a sliver of hope, bringing the game to 15-30. But two consecutive unforced errors from the Bear allowed Maffett to close out the match and clinch the win with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph at No. 3.
With the match already decided, Georgia Southern added another three singles victories to complete the 7-0 sweep. Hungerford defeated Cohen at the five seed, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, before Rolle finished off a straight-set win, 7-6 (7), 6-1 over Anna Wieslander at No. 2. Beavers, at the top seed, rounded out match play, downing Lada in three sets. Lada took the first, 6-4, but Beavers battled back taking the final two for the win, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Georgia Southern closed out its home season and finishes 2010 with three road matches. The Eagles travel to Birmingham, Ala. to take on Southern Conference foe Samford first on Saturday, April 10. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.