UNCG 5, Elon 2
ELON, N.C. - UNCG swept all three doubles matches before winning the first four singles matches en route to a 5-2 win over backyard-rival Elon on Wednesday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
For the 15th time this season, UNCG (13-5, 8-1 Southern Conference) began the match by winning the doubles point. Devon Sutherland and Mikayla Rogers got things going for the Spartans with an easy 8-0 win at No. 3.
Niltooli Wilkins and Lucy Dougherty followed with an 8-2 win at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point and improve their overall record to 16-2 this spring. Stephanie Macfarlane and Alex Whitehead are now 15-2 in doubles after their 8-2 win at No. 1.
Wilkins carried the momentum into her singles match as she scored a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 1 to move to 16-2 this spring. Rogers also made quick work of her opponent with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6 to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
Macfarlane clinched the win for UNCG at No. 3 singles as she earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Frida Jansaker. Dougherty gave the Spartans an impressive 5-0 lead in the match with her 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (5) win at No. 5 singles.
The Phoenix (10-10, 5-5 SoCon) weren't able to get on the board until the waning moments as Viviana Stavreva scored a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 6-4 win at No. 4. Bryn Khoury was able to close out the match with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 win at No. 2 to make the final score, 5-2.
Samford 6, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Samford University women's tennis team extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs tallied a 6-1 Southern Conference victory against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs in their regular-season finale held at the UTC Tennis Courts.
With the win, Samford (17-4, 7-3 SoCon) remained undefeated in nearly two weeks since a hard-fought 5-2 setback at College of Charleston on April 2. Since then, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive conference victories against Georgia Southern 6-1, Davidson 7-0, Appalachian State 6-1 and Chattanooga (10-10, 5-4 SoCon) 6-1.
The Bulldogs have already earned a first-round bye in the 11-team postseason tournament and will most likely enter the event as the fourth-seeded team. As the No. 4 seed, Samford would square off against No. 5-seed Chattanooga in a rematch to be held at the Champions Club in Chattanooga.
In Wednesday's 6-1 victory against the Lady Mocs, the Bulldogs swept all three doubles matches and then picked up singles wins from Andrie Meiring, Madelie Janse Van Rensburg, Kristin Lewis, Rebecca Kirven and Lindsey Mallory. With a straight-set win against Chattanooga's Alexa Flynn on court No. 2, Samford's Meiring, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, improved her record on the season to 18-3.
The Bulldogs' Janse Van Rensburg also improved to 18-3 in singles play, while Lewis moved her record to 17-3 and Lindsey Mallory moved to 15-2.
In Wednesday's doubles competition, Samford's tandems comprised of Morgan and Mallory, and Meiring and Kirven both improved their team-best records to 15-6 in doubles play. On court No. 3, the Bulldogs' pairing of Janse Van Rensburg and Jessica Diamond defeated Chattanooga's combination of Grace Robinette and Annie Green 8-5.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action on April 21 as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2011 SoCon Tournament, which is also being held in Chattanooga. The four-day competition will be held April 20-23 at The Champion's Club.
Furman 7, Western Carolina 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Senior Monica Arguello notched a win in the top singles match and teamed with fellow senior Jennifer Betts for a doubles victory to lead the Furman women's tennis team to a 7-0 sweep of Western Carolina Wednesday afternoon in the Paladins' Senior Day match at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
Arguello, ranked 72nd nationally, defeated Izabella Glinska, 6-1, 6-2 at number one singles, while sophomore Lauren Kline beat Carolina Lainez, 6-1, 6-3, in the second singles match. Freshman Margaret Boyette beat Ainhoa Iglesias Diaz, 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-4) at number three singles, and sophomore Michele Stanford recorded a 6-2, 6-2 win over Karen Jimenez at number four singles. In the fifth singles match, junior Susan Bitetti beat Katie Barry, 6-0, 6-0. Betts won be default in the sixth singles position.
In doubles action, sophomore Olivia Maurice teamed with Boyette for an 8-2 victory over Lainez and Iglesias Diaz at number one doubles, and Arguello and Betts combined to defeat Glinska and Jimenez, 8-1, at number two doubles. Bitetti and sophomore Jenny Porter won by default in the third doubles spot.