Samford 7, Western Carolina 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University women's tennis team remained undefeated at home this season as the Bulldogs registered a 7-0 victory against the Western Carolina Catamounts on Sunday in a Southern Conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the win, Samford (7-1, 2-1 SoCon) earned its seventh straight victory this season while playing at home in Birmingham. The Bulldogs' lone setback of the 2011 campaign was a hard-fought 4-3 loss at UNC Greensboro.
Western Carolina (1-5, 0-2 SoCon) completed its brief two-match road trip with an 0-2 record. On Saturday, the Catamounts dropped a 6-1 decision at Chattanooga.
Samford earned Sunday's doubles point with a pair of 8-0 victories on courts No. 1 and No. 2. The Bulldogs then swept all of the singles matches with straight-set wins.
By being victorious in the singles competition, Samford's Madelie Janse Van Rensburg, Kristin Lewis and Andrie Meiring all improved to 7-1 this season. Meiring, the Bulldogs' senior from Stellenbosch, South Africa, earned her sixth straight victory in singles play.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action March 12 as the Bulldogs host a non-conference doubleheader against former Ohio Valley Conference rivals UT Martin and Murray State beginning at 11 a.m. (CST) at the Samford Tennis Center.
Furman 5, UNC Wilmington 2
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Furman doubles team of sophomores Lauren Kline and Michele Stanford battled back from a 5-1 deficit to take a 9-8(3) win and clinch the doubles point and the Paladins went on to defeat UNC Wilmington, 5-2, Sunday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga.
Furman seniors Monica Arguello and Jennifer Betts teamed up for an 8-5 win over Chelsea Kahle and Kelly Cameron in the third doubles match, then Olga Blank and Angela Sekely defeated Paladin freshmen Margaret Boyette and Katherine Oudin, 8-5, in the top doubles match to set up the deciding match at number two singles.
In singles action, Arguello, ranked 63rd nationally, defeated Blank, 6-0, 6-0, at number one singles, then Stanford beat Kahle, 6-3, 6-3 at number six singles to give the Paladins an early 3-0 lead. The remaining four singles matches then went three sets or into a deciding tie-breaker, with Boyette defeating Christina Riley 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at number four singles to clinch the match for the Paladins. Freshman Amanda Murray also picked up a win for Furman, beating Leblang, 7-6, 3-6, 1-0(11-9).
The Seahawks scored two points in singles, with Lee defeating Oudin, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 at number two singles, and Sekely handing Kline a 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 loss in the third singles match.
Furman (4-4, 1-0 SoCon) will travel to Las Vegas to play three matches next weekend. The Paladins will face SMU Friday at 1 p.m. then play Boise State Saturday at 1 p.m. Furman will take on host UNLV Sunday at 1 p.m.