Furman 6, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Furman women’s tennis team, ranked 63rd nationally, downed Western Carolina, 6-1, Wednesday at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, N.C. With the victory, the Paladins improve to 8-0 in the Southern Conference and extend their winning streak to eight matches.
The Paladins swept the doubles competition to open the match. Junior Alex Moreno-Kaste and senior Katherine Oudin teamed up to beat Stacia Kissell and Shannon Bettiol, 8-3, in the top contest, and freshman Blair Martin and senior Margaret Boyette posted an 8-2 victory over Megan McLinden and Nicole Nielly in the flight two match-up. At flight three, freshman Karlee Bryde and senior Amanda Murray defeated Sara Ruiz Pajares and Erin Maguire, 8-1.
In singles action, Furman won five out of six matches in straight sets. Oudin posted a 6-1, 6-0 win versus Bettiol at number two, and Bryde topped McLinden, 6-2, 6-2, in the flight three contest. At flight four, Martin downed Ruiz Pajares, 6-3, 6-0, while Murray registered a 6-2, 6-2 advantage against Nielly in the number five match. Boyette was victorious in the flight six competition, defeating Maguire, 6-3, 6-4.
The Catamounts scored their lone point at flight one, as Kissell defeated Moreno-Kaste, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.
Samford 5, Troy 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women’s tennis team extended its home winning streak to 14-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs earned a 5-2 in-state triumph over the Troy Trojans in a key nonconference contest held the Samford Tennis Center.
With the victory, Samford (17-2) remained undefeated at home this season and upped its unblemished 2014 record to 12-0 when playing at the Samford Tennis Center. The Bulldogs have not been defeated at home in well over a year, dating back to March 23, 2013.
Samford has also been dominant against nonconference opponents this season and owns a 10-1 record when competing outside of the Southern Conference.
With Wednesday’s loss, Troy (12-7) dropped its first decision since March 9 and had its season-long, seven-match winning streak snapped. Prior to losing to Samford, the Trojans’ most recent setback occurred at Florida Gulf Coast, 5-2.
Samford dropped the doubles point against Troy, but rebounded to win five of the six singles matches to claim the 5-2 overall victory.
In the doubles competition, the Bulldogs’ lone win occurred at court No. 2 where Yasmeen Ebada and Carita Moolman cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Trojans’ duo of Brooke Durden and Monica Gonzales. With their win, Ebada and Moolman improved to 6-0 on the season.
Samford’s Ebada also proved to be victorious in singles play Wednesday. In the matchup on court No. 3, the Bulldogs’ talented junior from Cairo, Egypt, topped Troy’s Anja Cosovic, 7-5, 7-5, to extend her winning streak to six-consecutive matches and to improve to stellar record on the season to 17-1.
Also triumphant in singles play versus Troy were Kristin Lewis, Jessica Northcutt, Emily Mallory and Lauren Caballero. All five of Samford’s singles victories occurred in straight sets.
Mallory, the Bulldogs’ unflappable senior native of Louisville, Ky., extended her singles winning streak to eight straight matches Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over the Trojans’ Gonzales on court No. 5. With her triumph, Mallory improved her record on the season to 14-2.
Additionally, Samford’s Lewis, Northcutt and Caballero all improved to 12-7, 15-4 and 12-3, respectively.