Furman 5, Samford 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. --- In one of its toughest matches of the 2012 Southern Conference season, the Samford University women's tennis team came up short Saturday in a 5-2 decision against the Furman Lady Paladins. The Bulldogs' road contest was held at Furman's Mickel Tennis Center.
With the loss, Samford (10-5, 2-4 SoCon) moved to 1-1 in its current five-match conference road swing. On Thursday, the Bulldogs opened their trip with a decisive 7-0 victory at Western Carolina. Furman (8-7, 3-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches Saturday. The Lady Paladins have been victorious in their last two meetings against Samford and own a 5-1 all-time record in the series.
In Saturday's SoCon showdown, the Bulldogs swept the doubles competition with wins from the pairings of Kristin Lewis and Lindsey Mallory on court No. 1, 8-3, Madelie Janse Van Rensburg and Rebecca Kirven on court No. 2, 8-6, and Stephanie N'tcha and Adri Lochner in the No. 3 matchup, 8-5.
Samford's tandem comprised of Janse Van Rensburg and Kirven earned its third-straight victory in doubles play and improved to 9-5 on the season. The Bulldogs' combination of Lewis and Lindsey Mallory moved to 12-3 in dual-match play, while true freshmen Lochner and N'tcha improved to 8-3 on court No. 3.
Despite losing the doubles point, Furman bounced back in singles play and rallied for wins on five of the six courts. With their play in singles, the Lady Paladins registered a 5-2 team victory.
Samford's triumph in singles play occurred on court No. 5 as senior Lindsey Mallory outlasted Furman's Alex Moreno-Kaste, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5). With the victory, Mallory notched her third-straight win and improved her singles record on the season to 9-4.
Chattanooga 5, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team scored a 5-2 win at Wofford today. The Lady Mocs came from behind in all four of their singles wins to improve to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference race. Wofford falls to 4-8 and 0-2 in the SoCon with the loss.
There were plenty of story lines and connections between these two teams. UTC could wrap up back-to-back .500 or better seasons with a win while senior Emily Hangstefer went against her sister, Wofford head coach Katie Hangstefer for the last time. Terrier junior Guinn Garcia is the niece of UTC men's tennis head coach Carlos Garcia and Wofford's No. 1 player, sophomore Sarah Evans, is a Chattanooga native and graduate of GPS.
That familiarity would lead to a tight match that included four three-setters in singles and a tiebreaker in doubles. Chattanooga grabbed the doubles point with wins at No. 3 and No. 2. Hangstefer teamed with senior Shaina Singh to clinch the point with an 8-6 win over Julia Paulson and Samantha Sullivan at No. 2.
The No. 1 match was the closest of the three. With the score even at 7-7, sophomore Alexa Flynn and freshman Kaylene Chadwell lost the extra frame 7-2 to Evans and Garcia.
The Lady Mocs took the team win by scoring in the first three matches off the court. Flynn gave Chattanooga a 2-0 lead with her (2-6, 6-3, 6-4) come-from-behind win at No. 2. She improves to 16-4 overall and 6-4 at No. 2.
Singh put UTC up 3-0 with her (6-4, 7-5) victory over Emily Przystawski at No. 6. Singh was down 1-4 in the first set before winning the next five games. She improves to 16-8 overall and is now 2-0 at No. 6.
Hangstefer had another clinching win with her (3-6, 6-4, 6-1) win over Garcia at No. 4. Hangstefer was down a set and 0-3 in the second before taking 12 of the next 14 games. She moves to 15-5 overall and 8-4 at No. 4.
Chadwell also had a singles win at No. 3 today, defeating Audrey Coventry (7-6 (3), 6-2). She was down 1-5 in the first set before forcing and winning a tiebreaker.
East Carolina 4, Davidson 0
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The Davidson women's tennis team started a five-match road trip, but it did not start as they had hoped as the Wildcats fell 4-0 to East Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
Due to rain in the area, the match was moved indoors and not all the singles matches were finished. Davidson dropped its sixth straight, falling to 3-11 overall. ECU improved to 7-11 with the home win.
The Pirates swept all three doubles spots, and then took singles wins at No. 2, 3 and 4 positions for the team win.
Brites Moniz-Soares, playing at No. 1 for the fourth time this year, kept her six-match win streak intact after her match went unfinished. She had won the first set, 6-4, but lost in a tie-breaker in set two to force the third set. Since the team match points had been decided, her singles match was not finished.
Davidson will look to snap out of its funk with a match against cross-county rival Charlotte, March 27, at 3 p.m.