Elon 5, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Elon University women’s tennis team won its fifth straight match with a 5-2 decision at Wofford on Saturday, April 6, at the Reeves Tennis Center.
The Phoenix improves to 16-3 overall, tying last year’s squad and the 2010 team for the most wins in a single season since joining the Division I ranks. Elon also improves to 6-2 in Southern Conference play to remain in the hunt for the regular-season crown.
Elon swept all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Jordan Johnston and Frida Jansaker claimed an 8-4 decision at No.1 versus Sarah Evans and Othilia Lindqvist to kick things off. Briana Berne and Taylor Casey won 8-3 at No. 3, while Maria Camara Ruiz and Viviana Stavreva registered an 8-5 decision at No. 2.
Lazarova was the first to finish singles play, helping Elon to a 2-0 lead after a 6-0, 6-2, win at No. 5 against Wofford’s Guinn Garcia.
Bryn Khoury continued her impressive play this season, as the junior claimed a 6-4, 6-1, victory at No. 4 versus Mareli Sanchez to push the Phoenix out to a 3-0 edge. Khoury improves to 17-4 and has won eight of her last ten matches.
Jansaker clinched the match win for the maroon and gold at No. 2 singles, topping Audrey Coventry, 6-3, 6-2, to give her team a 4-0 lead. Jansaker improves to 17-3 on the year with the win.
Johnston won a three-set battle at No. 1 for the Phoenix, topping Evans 6-3, 4-6, 10-7. Johnston improves to 12-8 with the decision.
College of Charleston 7, Samford 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Samford University women’s tennis team suffered its eighth-consecutive road loss Saturday as the Bulldogs dropped a 7-0 Southern Conference decision to the College of Charleston Cougars in a league matchup held the Patriots Point Tennis Center.
With the loss, Samford (8-11, 3-5 SoCon) had its two-match winning streak halted and moved to 0-8 in road outings this season. On Sunday, the Bulldogs will continue their four-match, regular season-ending road swing at Furman.
College of Charleston (14-8, 6-1 SoCon) extended its winning stretch to three-consecutive matches Saturday. The Cougars have also been victorious in seven of their last eight contests.
On Saturday, College of Charleston took the doubles points and then received wins on all six singles courts to garner the 7-0 team victory.
Samford’s lone triumph of the day occurred in the No. 3 doubles contest where the Bulldogs’ combination of Jessica Northcutt and Emily Mallory earned an 8-6 victory against the Cougars’ Irene Viana and Brooke McAmis. With their win, Samford’s Northcutt and Mallory improved to 7-3 in dual-match play this season.
Furman 4, UNCG 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman women’s tennis team downed Southern Conference leader UNC Greensboro, 4-3, Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C. With the win, the Paladins improve to 10-7 overall and are tied for the SoCon lead with a 6-1 conference record. The Spartans fall to 11-6, 7-2 SoCon with the loss.
UNCG took a quick lead in doubles, as Kayla Gammie and Annette Rios teamed up for an 8-4 win versus senior Michele Stanford and junior Amanda Murray at flight two. Furman tied the match after senior Lauren Kline and sophomore Alex Moreno-Kaste defeated Alex Whitehead and Niltooli Wilkins, 8-6, in the top contest, setting up a decisive flight three.
The number three doubles match went to a tiebreaker, with junior Margaret Boyette and sophomore Kelly Sullivan holding on for a 9-8(7-3) advantage over Stephanie Falcon and Dilara Yurkuran to clinch the opening point for the Paladins.
In singles play, Moreno-Kaste notched a swift 6-0, 6-2 victory over Yurtkuran at flight two, and Boyette came back from a 3-0 first set deficit to defeat Gammie, 6-3, 6-3, at number six to push the Paladin lead to 3-0. Falcon posted a 6-4, 6-1 win versus Murray at flight six to put the Spartans on the board, but junior Katherine Oudin held on for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory against Whitehead at number three to clinch the team win for Furman.
At number four singles, Rios came from behind for a close 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) win over Stanford, then Sourneya Anane defeated Kline, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the top flight to close out the match with two Spartan victories.
Chattanooga 6, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. -- After the loss of the doubles point, the Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team was not able to recover and fell 6-1 against Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon at the Hanner Tennix Complex.
Picking up the only singles victory of the day was sophomore Jordana Klein. Ahead 6-4, 3-0 at the No. 2, Klein's opponent Kaylene Chadwell retired from the match, giving the sophomore her team-leading 10th and third consecutive singles victory of the year.
In doubles play, junior Paola Garrido and freshman Mary Phillips Smith earned the only win, outlasting their opponents Chadwell and Jones 9-7 at the top position.
Davidson 7, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina Tennis (1-11, 0-6 SoCon) lost to the Davidson Wildcats (9-10, 2-8 SoCon) Saturday afternoon at the Catamount Athletic Complex, 7-0.
The youthful Catamounts grabbed a victory in doubles play as Stacia Kissell and Shannon Bettiol won 8-5 in the No. 1 match. WCU's Nicole Nielly and Sara Ruiz Pajares lost 2-8 at the No. 2 position.
Davidson made a clean sweep in singles play, as Kissell was defeated at the No. 1 spot 2-6, 3-6. Pajares lost in the No. 2 position 0-6, 2-6, while Nielly (0-6, 1-6), Bettiol (2-6, 5-7), and Erin Maguire (0-6, 0-6) lost in the No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 matches.
WCU will be back on the courts tomorrow as they host Appalachian State at 2 p.m.