Western Carolina 5, Presbyterian 2
CLINTON, S.C. - After not being able to get in an official match in its first three attempts this season, the Western Carolina women's tennis team picked up its first win of 2013 as the Catamounts downed Presbyterian, 5-2, on Sunday in Clinton, S.C. The win was the first season-opening win for the Purple and Gold since 2010 - a victory over Brevard - when the first five matches of the season were postponed.
The Catamounts opened up strong winning the doubles points. The WCU pairs of Nicole Nielly / Shannon Bettiol and Stacia Kissell / Karen Jiménez cruised to 8-2 and 8-4 in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches, respectively. The No. 3 doubles, PC's Carolina DeLoach and Kayla Stanford escaped Sara Ruiz Pajares and Erin Maguire, winning 8-5.
WCU won four of the six singles matches with three of the six matches needed three sets to determine a winner. After falling 4-6 in the first set of No. 1 singles, freshman Stacia Kissell came roaring blank PC's Greer Ransom, 6-0, in the second. The third set was tight with a tiebreak needed to break the tie. Kissell came away with the victory to pick up her first collegiate victory.
In No. 2 singles, the lone upperclassmen - Karen Jiménez - easily tallied the win, 6-2,6-0. Nicole Nielly defeated Lindsay Krause in No. 4 singles, 6-0, 6-4. In No. 6 singles, Erin Maguire came from behind to pull out a three-set win, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6.
The Catamounts continue their eight-match road swing against directional rival East Carolina after a 13-day break from competition with a match on Feb. 23.
Georgia Southern 6, Mercer 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's tennis team (2-3) took the lead when they won the doubles point and never looked back en route of a 6-1 win over Mercer (1-3) on Sunday afternoon at the Hanner Tennis Complex.
"I'm really proud of the team coming away with the win today after such a tough loss yesterday. The team really came together and worked together to get the doubles point and that really started the momentum of the match," said Head Coach Amy Bonner. "It was a great day for us and I am really proud of the team for coming together."
Freshman Mary Phillips Smith clinched the match for the Eagles in her first collegiate win on her 18th birthday.
"To me that was most of the exciting parts of the match today. She came in in January, graduated high school early and picked up her first win today... very exciting," said Bonner.
With the Eagles up 3-0, Smith took control in her second set and beat Natalie Franklin 7-6, 6-2 on court four. Junior Paola Garrido and freshman Stephanie Woods picked up wins before Smith's match winner with Garrido beating Isabel Dennis 6-3, 6-3 at the number one spot and Woods routing Liza Klyachkin 6-4, 6-1, overcoming a 4-1 deficit in the first set.
The junior-freshman duo had been successful earlier in the day when they clinched the doubles point for the Eagles, defeating Dennis and Lucy Payrat 8-6 at the number one. Smith also earned her first collegiate doubles win as she teamed up with fellow newcomer Francisca Norregaard for a 8-4 win over Roxy Bartz and Franklin at the number three doubles position.
"All three doubles matches were very close. It came down to that top court and we were able to pull away with the victory today and it was a great momentum builder for the singles matches today," said Bonner.
Jordana Klein also picked a win, her fourth of the year. After a tough first set, she quickly finished her second, taking home the win 7-5, 6-1 over Payrat. Klein is tied with Woods for the most singles wins on the year.
Senior Natalie Maffett determined the final score with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Kealee Heffner at court five.
Troy 4, Furman 1
ORLANDO, FLA. - The Troy women's tennis team clinched the doubles point and won three singles matches to slip past Furman, 4-1, Sunday in a neutral match at the UCF Tennis Complex in Orlando, Fla.
The Trojan duo of Anja Cosovic and Hannah Toro defeated senior Michele Stanford and junior Amanda Murray, 8-1, at number two doubles, then Rasaura Ramirez-Vega and Olivia Brooke Durden beat junior Margaret Boyette and sophomore Kelly Sullivan, 8-3, in the third doubles match-up to clinch the doubles point. Troy's Lyubov Dorofeeva and Karoline Grymel led senior Lauren Kline and junio Katherine Oudin, 5-3, in an unfinished match at number one doubles.
In singles, Cosovic defeated Sullivan, 6-0, 6-1, at number four to give the Trojans a 2-0 lead before Boyette pushed her singles record to 3-1 with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Candela Munoz Giron to put the Paladins on the board. Grymel was victorious over #68 Kline, 6-3, 6-2, in the top singles spot, then Ramirez-Vega clinched the team win with a 7-5, 6-2 win over senior Jenny Porter at number six singles.
Matches at No. 2 and No. 3 remained unfinished, with Toro leading Oudin, 6-4, 4-4, at number two, and Dorofeeva leading Murray, 7-5, 1-0, at number three.
Furman (1-3) has a ten-day hiatus before entertaining South Carolina on Feb. 20 at 5 p.m. at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.