UNCG 5, Elon 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG's 74th-ranked women's tennis team picked up a 5-2 win over Southern Conference rival Elon on Tuesday at the UNCG Tennis Courts to clinch at least a share of the regular-season league title for the first time since 1999 and the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The Spartans, who jumped into the Campbell/ITA Women's Team Rankings on Tuesday, won their 10th straight match to improve to 15-4 overall and 9-0 in the SoCon, assuring themselves of no worse than a share of the regular-season championship. UNCG can clinch its first-ever outright SoCon title with a win at Western Carolina on Sunday.
UNCG's ranking is its first since a two-week stay at No. 70 in March 2011.
With the win, UNCG locked up the No. 1 seed in the SoCon Championship, which will be held in Charleston, S.C., from April 19-22. Only Furman or College of Charleston could potentially catch UNCG in the standings if the Spartans fall at Western, but UNCG holds the tiebreaker over both teams.
UNCG won the doubles point for the 17th straight match Tuesday, claiming wins at Nos. 2 and 3 for the early 1-0 lead over the Phoenix (15-8, 5-5 SoCon).
Devon Sutherland and Alex Whitehead got things started with an 8-3 win over Maria Camara Ruiz and Barbora Lazarova at No. 2, but Elon's tandem of Frida Jansaker and Jordan Johnston evened the score with an 8-4 win over Lucy Dougherty and Niltooli Wilkins at No. 1. The Phoenix duo improved to 19-2 overall and finished SoCon play 9-1 at No. 1.
The Spartans' Kayla Gammie and Annette Rios continued to roll at No. 3, grabbing an 8-3 win over Briana Berne and Viviana Stavreva to clinch the point. The win was Gammie and Rios' 13th straight.
Whitehead made quick work of Bryn Khoury at No. 2 to open singles play, taking a 6-1, 6-3 win. Wilkins wrapped up her match at No. 1 just moments later, completing her own 6-1, 6-3 win over Johnston. Wilkins' victory was her 17th straight and pushed her record to 27-6 on the year. She needs just two more wins to equal the school record set by Alejandra Guerra in 2009.
Jansaker got Elon on the board with her 6-1, 6-4 win over Dilara Yurtkuran at No. 3, but Annette Rios clinched the match for UNCG a few minutes later with her 6-4, 6-3 win over Lazarova at No. 4.
The fifth and sixth flights were decided in super tiebreakers, with Sutherland pulling out a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) win over Camara Ruiz at No. 6. UNCG's Stephanie Falcon battled back from a first-set loss to force the super at No. 5, but Stavreva picked up the 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 (10-6) win.
Charlotte 4, Appalachian State 3
BOONE, N.C. - In the team's final match on its home courts, Appalachian State University women's tennis fell to non-conference opponent Charlotte, 4-3, at Yonahlossee Racquet Club on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers (12-9) suffer their first loss of the season at the Yonahlossee facility, while the 49ers (15-4) earn their third win over a Southern Conference squad.
Before the match, Appalachian's four graduating seniors were recognized for their contributions to the Mountaineer tennis program. Those honored included Blakeley Bean, Christina Calott, Kim-Lea Dinh and Gisela Fernandez.
In doubles play, Charlotte's No. 1 pair won three straight games to take a 7-4 lead before closing out an 8-5 win. Appalachian's No. 2 tandem, Fernandez and Gabriela Celi, trailed at 3-5 but won three in a row for a 6-5 lead. The match went to a tiebreaker, though the 49ers stole the doubles point with a 9-8(7-4) win.
At No. 3, ASU seniors Bean and Dinh rebounded from a 1-4 deficit to tie the match at 7-7 before the match was halted following Charlotte's point-clinching win at No. 2.
In singles, Charlotte's No. 3 player won three straight games to open a 2-5 lead in the first set over Celi. The 49er took five straight games to close a 6-3, 6-1 match and give Charlotte a 2-0 lead in the team scoring.
ASU junior Jennifer Ansari used a late break point to win the first set of her match at No. 2 singles, and in the next set, Ansari took full control in her 7-5, 6-0 win.
Fellow junior Ellie Linsell soon finished her match in the top singles spot, following a long first set by breaking open a 3-0 lead in the second set en route to a 7-5, 6-3 performance. With Appalachian's wins in two of the first three individual matches, the teams went to the bottom half of the lineup deadlocked at 2-2.
Charlotte scored five consecutive games in the opening set of the No. 4 singles match, and the 49er closed the match with three straight games in a 6-2, 6-3 match, putting the 49ers one point from securing the team victory.
Bean kept the Mountaineers alive with a breakout performance in the No. 6 match. The senior won three straight games to take a 5-2 lead in the first set and shutout her 49er foe in the latter set of a 6-4, 6-0 win to tie the match at 3-3.
In the final match on the court, freshman Gabby Gabriel squared off in the No. 5 singles duel and scored three games in a row to take a 5-2 lead in the opening set. Her Charlotte foe recovered to take a big win in the second, leaving the team result hanging on one final set.
The decisive set saw Charlotte's Iveta Guneva break serve twice only to have Gabriel break back. With the set level at 4-4, Guneva finally pulled out two-straight games, and Charlotte picked up a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win to seal the match.