Furman 4, Samford 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Freshman Blair Martin defeated Lauren Caballero, 7-6(4), 6-3, at flight six to break open a 3-3 tie as #68 Furman remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play and extended its winning streak to four matches with a 4-3 over #71 Samford Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C. The Paladin win ended Samford’s 10-match winning streak and marked the first league loss for the Bulldogs this season.
The Paladins swept the doubles to open the match. The Furman freshman duo of Ansley Speaks and Blair Martin picked up a quick 8-1 win over Stephanie N’tcha and Carita at flight two, then freshman Karlee Bryde and senior Amanda Murray topped Yasmeen Ebada and Jessica Northcutt, 8-4, at flight three to clinch the opening point. Senior Alex Moreno-Kaste and junior Katherine Oudin came from behind for an 8-6 victory over Kristin Lewis and Emily Mallory to complete the sweep.
In singles action, Bryde notched a quick 6-1, 6-4 win over Northcutt at flight four, then Speaks defeated N’tcha, 6-3, 6-0, at number one to extend the Paladin lead to 3-0. Ebada put Samford on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 advantage over Oudin at flight three, then Lewis came from behind to defeat Moreno-Kaste, 5-7, 6-0, 6-3, at number two to pull the Bulldogs within one. At flight five, Mallory registered a 6-3, 6-4 win against Sullivan to tie the match at 3-all, setting up the decisive number six contest.
Chattanooga 7, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women’s tennis team dropped its match against the Mocs of Chattanooga, 7-0, on Saturday afternoon. The match was played at the Westside Club due to rain.
The loss moves the Terriers to 5-10 overall and 1-4 in the Southern Conference while the Mocs improve to 13-2 overall and a 4-0 record in the conference.
Kayla Jones and Katie Polk clinched the doubles point for the Mocs on the second court winning 8-2. Chattanooga finished off the sweep of the doubles point on the top court as Kaylene Chadwell and Alexa Flynn won 8-2.
In singles play, Flynn clinched the match on the third court as she defeated Wofford’s Julia Paulson, 6-3, 6-2. Mareli Sanchez played well and battled in her second set against Claire Mulyadi but lost 6-3, 7-5.
Taylor Carlson also played well on the sixth court pushing Polk to three sets. After winning the first set 6-4, Carlson went on to lose the second set 6-1, and lost in a third set tiebreak 10-2.
Appalachian State 5, Davidson 2
BOONE, N.C. – After falling behind after two singles matches, Appalachian State University women’s tennis rallied for a 5-2 victory over Southern Conference rival Davidson on Saturday at Yonahlossee Racquet Club.
The Mountaineers (5-14, 1-4 SoCon) jumped out to an early lead by winning the doubles point, but the Wildcats (6-14, 1-5) earned straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 3 singles to snag a 2-1 lead before Appalachian bounced back by winning each of the final four singles matches.
App State rolled in doubles play as the No. 2 tandem of Clare Cox/McKayla Zupan picked up an 8-3 win while the No. 3 team of Brianna Armellino/Megan Mullen won by the same score.
In singles play, LaSure earned a win in a thrilling three-set marathon at the No. 2 spot to tie the match at 2-2 after Davidson had dispatched Appalachian’s top two players. After dropping the first set by a 6-1 score, she was able to win the second set 7-5 before cruising to a 6-1 win in the third and decisive set.
Jessica Thaggard followed up with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 5 while Mullen cruised to a win at No. 6 (6-1, 6-0). Armellino capped off the day with a three-set win at No. 5 (6-3, 6-7, 6-0).
Middle Tennessee State 4, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s tennis team fell 4-0 to Middle Tennessee State Saturday night at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
UNCG sits at 5-9 overall while MTSU improves to 8-6 on the season.
The Spartans fell behind 1-0 after losing the doubles point after Middle Tennessee State won two of the three matches. At No. 2 doubles, senior Dilara Yurtkuran and Yasmin Franco earned a 8-5 victory against Jesse Grace and Irina Constantinide. The Blue Raiders won the last two doubles matches in tiebreakers, 8-7. Nayara Moraes and Tiffany William took down Kayla Gammie and Devon Sutherland at No. 1 doubles 8-7 (7-4). In the final doubles match, Stephanie Falcon and Soumeya Anane fell just short 8-7 (7-5) against Flavia Nagayama and Sarah Sediri at No. 3 doubles.
In singles, Moraes won in straight sets against Gammie 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3 singles. William made it 3-0 Middle Tennessee State after a 6-3, 6-3 win against Anane.
Grace clinched the victory after defeating Falcon, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
The final three matches went unfinished due to the match being indoors. Franco was leading in the third set, 2-6, 6-2, 4-3 against Constantinide at No. 4 singles. Sophomore Jamie Grinberg had split two sets 1-6, 6-4 against Nagayama at No. 5 singles.
Sophomore Amy Ellis split two sets against Sediri, 6-3, 4-6 at No. 6 singles.
The Spartans will travel to Cullowhee, N.C. to take on Western Carolina Sunday, Mar. 30 at 1 p.m.