Appalachian State 4, Elon 3
BOONE, N.C. - With the team's fourth home victory in as many matches, Appalachian State University defeated Southern Conference rival Elon, 4-3, in both teams' conference opener at Yonahlossee Racquet Club on Tuesday. With the win, Appalachian (5-3, 1-0 SoCon) retains its perfect record on its home courts, while Elon (9-4, 0-1 SoCon) loses its first match against a non-ranked opponent.
Doubles action began with Appalachian's top pair, juniors Ellie Linsell and Jennifer Ansari, falling down a break and trailing 2-3, but the Apps broke serve to tie the match, 3-3. Linsell and Ansari broke two more times to take a 7-3 lead and eventually sealed the No. 1 pairs match, 8-5.
In the No. 2 doubles spot, Appalachian's Gisela Fernandez and Gabriela Celi found themselves down a break point on three separate occasions, but retorted in kind and found themselves deadlocked with their Phoenix foes, 8-8. In the tiebreaker, the ASU seniors scored three straight after the court change and picked up the 9-8(7-5) win to clinch the doubles point.
At No. 3 doubles, Elon's Bri Berne and Maria Camara took the match in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-5).
In singles action, Linsell recovered from a tough first set and forced a tiebreak in the second but was unable to hold off a charging Jordan Johnston, who won the point for the Phoenix, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), tying the match 1-1.
In the No. 2 singles match, Appalachian's Ansari protected her own serve for the duration of the match and cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 win. Ansari's efforts put Appalachian back on top, 2-1.
ASU's Celi squared off against Viviana Stavreva in a daunting match at No. 3 singles. Stavreva pulled out a 6-4 first set win before Celi responded to take the second, 6-3. The Mountaineer broke twice to take a 4-1 lead and was able to hold on for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory, extending the ASU lead to 3-1 overall.
Determined to extend the match, the Phoenix recouped a point with a solid showing at No. 4 singles, with Frida Jansaker stealing the match, 6-2, 6-0.
At No. 5 singles, Elon's Camara picked up a 6-1 win in the first set, but Appalachian's Kim-Lea Dinh took an early break and held on to lead 5-3 in the second set. EU's Camara held tough and picked up four straight games to win the set and her match, 6-1, 7-5, leveling the team score at 3-3.
With the match on the line, ASU's No. 6 Gabby Gabriel pocketed a 4-0 lead in the opening set before her opponent, Berne, broke twice to close the gap to 4-3. The Appalachian State freshman regained her composure, sealing the first stanza, 6-3. With the second set tied 2-2, Gabriel broke to make it a 3-2 set but Berne tied the set at 4-4.
As the Mountaineers and gallery closed in to cheer on the players, Gabriel picked up a critical break point to go ahead 6-5, but Elon's Berne broke back to force a tiebreaker. With the score at 5-5, Gabriel tallied the final two points to seal the deal, 6-3, 7-6(7-5), and clinch the 4-3 win for Appalachian State.
Chattanooga 7, Mercer 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team improved to 8-1 with a sweep of visiting Mercer today. The Lady Mocs dropped the Bears 7-0 in less than three hours for the non-conference win at the UTC Tennis Courts.
Mercer only traveled five players for the match, so UTC was up 1-0 before the first serve. Seniors Brianna Wishing and Emily Hangstefer clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Amanda Bertani and Sarah Hanna at No. 2. Wishing and Hangstefer improved to 4-1 in the spring as a doubles tandem.
Sophomore Alexa Flynn and Shaina Singh completed the doubles sweep with their 8-3 win over Melanie Schumilas and Lucie Payrat at No. 1.
Up 2-0, Chattanooga dominated the 2-5 singles matches. UTC won all in straight sets and only lost two games in those four matches. Senior Charlotte Bossy improved to 4-1 in the spring with a (6-0, 6-0) win at No. 6 over Katherine Cooper.
Flynn was next off the court with a (6-1, 6-1) win over Schumilas at No. 2. She moves to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the spring with her third straight win. Freshman Kaylene Chadwell followed with a (6-0, 6-0) win over Bertani at No. 3. She is now 11-7 and 6-3 in the spring, and also has a three-match winning streak.
Freshman Claire Mulyadi posted a (6-0, 6-0) win of her own over Hanna at No. 4. She is undefeated in singles play at 5-0 since joining the team in January.
The only contested match was at No. 1 between Payrat and UTC senior Jenna Nurk. They were locked in a tough first set that was still undecided when the other four matches were completed. With her teammates cheering her on, Nurik fought off three set points to win the tiebreak 12-10. She then won the second set 6-3 to take the match. Nurik improves to 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the spring with her sixth straight win at No. 1.
"It was good to see everyone get to play and everyone get a win," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "We now have to turn our attention on conference play and a very tough opponent on Friday."
The Lady Mocs host the College of Charleston on Friday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts. UTC has not defeated the Cougars (4-2, 0-0 SoCon) since 2002, dropping the last nine meetings. Chattanooga has not scored more than a point in any match since a 4-3 loss in 2004.
UTC also hosts Georgia Southern (4-4, 1-0 SoCon) this weekend. That match is set for Sunday, March 11, at Noon on the UTC Tennis Courts.
Campbell 6, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team was unable to extend its winning streak to three matches on Tuesday afternoon. The Eagles fell, 6-1, to Campbell University at Hanner Tennis Complex. The loss marks the second time this season that the Eagles have fallen after winning consecutive matches.
The Eagles (4-5) fell behind early in the match by dropping the doubles point. Cameron Williams and Alessandra Dzuba got the Eagles on the board with an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles. However, the tandems of Alexis Prickett and Natalie Maffett at No. 1 doubles and Paola Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and Mimi Bollaci at No. 2 doubles both fell by identical 8-3 scores, giving the point to the Camels.
The Camels used the momentum gained from winning the doubles point to fuel them in singles play. Sydney Brown made her season debut for the Eagles but fell at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-2. Allison Beeler, Williams, and Scottie French, also picked up losses at #2, #3, and #4 singles. Garrido lost her second match of the season at No. 1 singles, both in third-set match tiebreakers. The lone victor for the Eagles was junior Alexandra Langmo, who came back after dropping the first set and prevailed at No. 5 singles in a third-set match tiebreaker by a score of 3-6, 6-4, 12-10.
The Eagles will return to conference play when they hit the road for the weekend and travel to Samford and Chattanooga. Play is scheduled to begin on Saturday in Birmingham at 2 p.m. and Sunday in Chattanooga at noon.
Georgia State 7, Samford 0
ATLANTA --- The Samford University women's tennis team's eight-match undefeated streak came to an end Tuesday as the Bulldogs dropped a 7-0 decision on the road against the 50th-ranked Georgia State Panthers in a non-conference contest held at the Sharon Lester Tennis Center at Piedmont Park.
Samford's (8-1) first loss of the season occurred in its first road match of the 2012 campaign. The Bulldogs opened the year with eight-straight victories held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Georgia State (7-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead Tuesday by taking the doubles point. The nationally-ranked Panthers then tallied straight-set wins on all six singles courts.
The Bulldogs' Madelie Janse Van Rensburg suffered her first setback of the season in singles play Tuesday. The loss snapped her eight-match winning streak and moved her record to 8-1 in 2012.
In doubles play, Samford's tandem comprised of Kristin Lewis and Lindsey Mallory was also defeated for the first time this season. Heading into their match with Georgia State, the Bulldogs' doubles duo owned an unblemished 8-0 record at the No. 1 singles position.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Thursday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs begin play in a four-match, Southern Conference-opening homestand against the College of Charleston Cougars to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Tulane 5, College of Charleston 2
NEW ORLEANS - The College of Charleston women's tennis team won the first singles match, but couldn't hang on as they fell 5-2 at Tulane Tuesday at the Goldring Tennis Center.
The Cougars (4-4) got one of three doubles matches as freshman Samantha Maddox and junior Christin Newman defeated Tulane's Lindsay Dvorak and Hila Elster 9-7. Sophomore Jamie Harrell and junior Irene Viana dropped a close match 9-8 to Mariam Kurdadze and Emma Levy.
"We fought hard out there and it was a good match, but Tulane was the better team today," CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said.
CofC gained early momentum as senior Katie Lee (Brisbane, Australia) put the Cougars on the board with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Lindsay Dvorak.
The Cougars would fall in the next three matches to give Tulane (11-2) the four points they needed to win the match. Newman battled back after dropping her first set to win the second and force a third set.
Anastopoulo said he though Tulane's Caroline Thornton, a native of Charleston, S.C., was the difference in the match as she won both her doubles and singles matches.
Freshman Jenny Falcone won her singles match in three sets, 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3), defeating Tulane's Jenny Hois.
The Cougars have a quick turnaround as they travel to Birmingham, Ala., for a Thursday match at Samford, Friday at Chattanooga and Sunday at home for two matches, against Appalachian State and Rutgers.
"We have to rebound from this match and get the recovery we need heading into our next few matches," Anastopoulo said. "I think our girls will be excited and ready to go with our first two conference matches coming up."
East Tennessee State 6, Western Carolina 1
Johnson City, Tenn. - Western Carolina's women's tennis team fell 1-6 against the Bucs of East Tennessee State. Megan McLinden's three-set victory over Kelsey Williams in the No. 3 singles match. The Catamounts fell to 0-6 on the year with ETSU improving to 3-4.
Following up her first Southern Conference victory last Friday, McLinden extended her winning streak to two straight matches. McLinden dropped the first set 2-6 to Williams, but battled back with a convincing 6-1 win in the second set. In the close tiebreak set, McLinden came out on top edging out Williams 10-8.
The Catamounts did not fare as well in the rest of the matches. ETSU picked up its six points with convincing wins in the singles and doubles matches. East Tennessee State's No. 1 player Paula Jaime defeated Ainhoa Iglesias Díaz, 6-0, 6-1. Karen Jiménez fell in the No. 2 spot by a 6-2, 6-2 performance by Giulia Andreazza. WCU's Katie Barry and Sarah Walters were blanked in the No. 5 and No. 6 slots, 0-6, 0-6.
Western Carolina continues its last of a three-match road swing with a trip to Mars Hill to take on the Lions on Friday at 1:00 pm.