Elon 7, Wofford 0
ELON, N.C. - The Elon University women's tennis team won in impressive fashion on Sunday, April 1, as the Phoenix claimed a 7-0 sweep versus Southern Conference foe Wofford at The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
The win marks the 100th career victory for Phoenix head coach Elizabeth Anderson, who is in her eighth season at Elon.
Elon (14-6, 5-3 SoCon) won all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead over the Terriers (4-12, 0-6 SoCon). Viviana Stavreva and Briana Berne recorded a dominant 8-0 win over Lucy Schermerhorn and Emily Przystawski at No. 3, while rookies Maria Camara Ruiz and Barbora Lazaorva claimed an 8-1 win at No. 2 over Samantha Sullivan and Julia Paulson.
Jordan Johnston and Frida Jansaker improved to 17-2 on the year at No. 1 doubles, as the duo battled Wofford's Othilia Lindqvist and Sarah Evans to an 8-7 win.
Lazarova gave Elon a 2-0 advantage after quickly dispatching Wofford's Julia Paulson at No. 2 singles, 6-0, 6-0.
Jansaker pushed the Phoenix out to a 3-0 lead at No. 3 singles after recording a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Audrey Coventry. Jansaker has now won 14 of her last 15 matches.
Berne helped clinch the win for the maroon and gold at No. 6, as the junior topped Wofford's Samantha Sullivan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0.
Camara Ruiz was victorious for Elon at No. 5, claiming a 6-0, 6-2 win Emily Przystawski.
Stavreva and Johnston also claimed straight set wins for Elon to help the Phoenix complete the sweep.
College of Charleston 7, Davidson 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The No. 60-ranked College of Charleston women's tennis team cruised past Davidson, 7-0, to remain an unbeaten 6-0 in Southern Conference play held Sunday afternoon at the CofC Tennis Center at Patriots Point.
The Cougars (17-4) showed their dominance sweeping all of the doubles and singles matches against the Wildcats (3-14, 0-4 SoCon). It was the team's first match in nine days since a 4-1 win over Cornell on March 22 which capped a successful 10-0 run in a span of 12 days.
They were led by straight-set victories from freshman Samantha Maddox and senior Katie Lee, who both finished out their respective matches with love sets at the No. 4 and No. 5 lines to continue on a team-best five-match win streak each.
Sophomore Kelly Kambourelis clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Davidson's Brites Moniz-Soares at No. 2. The Cougars boast a combined 33-0 singles record against league opponents this season and extended their win streak to 13 consecutive matches.
CofC got the early jump on the Wildcats winning close pro-sets in doubles with Maddox and junior Irene Viana securing the doubles point with an 8-6 decision over Stephani Synn and Moniz-Soares at the top of the order.
UNCG 5, Furman 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG took over sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference with an intense 5-2 win over Furman on Sunday at the UNCG Tennis Courts in a showdown between league leaders.
The Spartans (12-4, 7-0 SoCon) and Paladins (11-8, 6-1 SoCon) came into Sunday's match with identical 6-0 SoCon records, but UNCG gutted out the win to pass a crucial midseason test in its bid for a league title.
With the match tied at 2 and the outcome still very much in doubt, UNCG's Stephanie Falcon pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) win over Amanda Murray at No. 6 as the Spartans inched closer to the win.
Nos. 1 and 4 singles were each in third sets at the point, and Annette Rios completed her comeback from a first-set loss to defeat Margaret Boyette 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 at No. 4 to clinch the match.
Niltooli Wilkins then punctuated the team victory with a comeback win of her own, finishing off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Lauren Kline at No. 1 for the final margin. The win was Wilkins' 15th straight and team-leading 25th of the year as she continues her quest for the school record of 29.
Also in singles play, Furman's Katherine Oudin picked up a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dilara Yurtkuran at No. 3 to draw the Paladins even in the early going. Alex Moreno-Kaste grabbed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Lucy Dougherty at No. 5 to put Furman on top 2-1, but that was to be its last lead of the day.
Alex Whitehead finished off her 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win over Michele Stanford at No. 2 to knot the match, and the Spartans won out from there.
UNCG started by winning the doubles point for the 14th straight match. Whitehead and Devon Sutherland won their eighth straight match at No. 2, cruising past Boyette and Oudin, 8-1. Rios and Kayla Gammie clinched the match with their 10th straight win, picking up an 8-4 decision over Kline and Kelly Sullivan at No. 3.
Both UNCG duos moved to 7-0 in league play.
Furman avoided the sweep in a tiebreaker at No. 1, with Moreno-Kaste and Stanford dropping Dougherty and Wilkins 8-7 (7-4).
Chattanooga 6, Appalachian State 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Mountaineers forced a handful of three-set matches but fell short, as Appalachian State University women's tennis fell to Chattanooga, 6-1, in Southern Conference action at UTC Tennis Courts on Sunday.
The Mountaineers (10-8, 3-4 SoCon) failed to pick up the victory in their final road conference test, while Chattanooga (12-4, 4-3 SoCon) has earned its most wins as a program since 2003.
Doubles action saw Chattanooga jump out to a quick lead, earning a 5-8 win at No. 2 doubles and a 4-8 win at No. 3.
Appalachian juniors Ellie Linsell and Jennifer Ansari were unable to stave off the sweep, as the Mocs took the No. 1 match, 6-8, and a one-point advantage into singles play.
UTC's Alexa Flynn made quick work of her No. 2 singles match, while Moc Kaylene Chadwell pulled out a two-set win at No. 3, extending Chattanooga's lead to 3-0.
Appalachian State junior Kim-Lea Dinh pulled out a 7-5 opening set in her match at No. 5 singles, but Chattanooga's Shaina Singh recovered and tore through the latter two sets, giving the Mocs a 5-7, 6-0, 6-0 victory and the match-clinching point.
Linsell bounced back from a first set loss to tie her match with a 6-3 win in the second set, but Chattanooga again answered to win the decisive set, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
ASU freshman Gabby Gabriel took the first set at No. 6, 6-3, before Chattanooga's Claire Mulyadi evened the match with a 6-4 second. In the final set, Gabriel showed resilient form and picked up the 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win to put the Black and Gold on the scoreboard, trailing 5-1.
In the final match on the courts, Appalachian's Jessica Thaggard came two games away from winning her match with a 4-2 lead in the final set, but Chattanooga completed its final rally of the day with four-straight games for a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 UTC win.
Gardner-Webb 7, Western Carolina 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb swept Western Carolina, 7-0, Sunday afternoon in Boiling Springs, N.C. in non-conference action. The Catamounts fall to 1-11 on the season with the loss while Gardner-Webb improves to 11-8.
In the No. 1 doubles match, Gardner-Webb's Oprea and Jenny Lunde downed Ainhoa Iglesias Díaz and Megan McLinden by a score of 8-4. GWU's No. 2 and No. 3 teams defeated the Catamounts by scores of 8-1 and 8-0.
In singles play, the Catamounts were blanked in the No. 4 and No. 5 matches, 6-0, 6-0. Katie Barry was defeated in the No. 3 spot by Alice Hopkins. Hopkins won 6-0, 6-1 over Barry. At No. 2 singles, Megan McLinden was downed by Alice Hopkins, 6-0, 6-1 while Ainhoa Iglesias Díaz fell 6-2, 6-0 to Erica White in the No. 1 match. GWU's Yasmin Doost took the No. 6 match by default.
Western Carolina returns home to conference play this Tuesday as the Furman Paladins come to Cullowhee for an afternoon match set to begin at 3:00 p.m. in the first of its three matches this week. Results from Tuesday's match can be found on CatamountSports.com.