Wofford 4, NC Central 3
LYNCHBURG, Va. – After sweeping the doubles point, it came down to junior Mareli Sanchez in singles play to earn the decisive point at the No. 6 spot. The Irmo native did just that, helping the Wofford College women’s tennis team take a 4-3 win at the Sports Racket, Saturday afternoon.
Sanchez, playing at No. 6, headed in to her match knowing she needed the match for the team to win. The junior didn’t let the pressure faze her, taking down the Eagles’ Tamara Jeremic, 6-0,6-2 for the team win.
With the victory, Wofford jumps back to .500 with a 1-1 record in the 2015 championship season.
Terriers came into the day’s matchup firing on all cylinders, with Wofford winning each of their three doubles matches. Sophomore Kalli Karas and freshman Lauren Reid wrapped up first, taking the No. 1 spot, 6-3, over Ekaterina Nekrasova and Rebecca Wood. Another sophomore-freshman duo in Taylor Carlson and Samantha Russell finished second. The two took on Lynsey Cover and Jeremic at the No. 3 spot, earning a 6-3 win. Sophomore Catherine Martin and Sanchez played at No. 2, beating Mia Ramic and Aissa Muamba 6-4.
NC Central (0-1) made a solid effort to rally in doubles play. Karas, who played at the No. 3 position, finished first with a tight 7-5 7-6 (3) win over Wood. The Eagles then won three straight set points. Muamba topped Martine at No. 1 first, 6-4, 6-4, before Nekrasova earned a three-set win over Russell 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 position. Cover grabbed what would be NC Central’s last team point, snagging a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over Wofford’s Reid at the No. 4 spot.
Audrey Coventry would turn things around for the Terriers. The senior played at the No.2 spot, fighting for three sets for a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 victory to knot up the team points. Sanchez then sealed the deal with the win over Jeremic.
Arkansas 4, Mercer 0
Arkansas 4, Mercer 0
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University women’s tennis team dropped two matches to Arkansas on Saturday, both 4-0 decisions.
After completing the first match, the teams decided to turn the afternoon into a doubleheader and play a second match. The teams did not plays doubles in the second match.
“This match had originally been scheduled as a doubleheader when we had eight players, so we decided to go ahead with that,” said Head Coach Eric Hayes. “It was tough today with only six players, but there we some bright spots. We know what needs to be done going forward.”
The Bears will continue its season on Jan. 24th and 25th in Knoxville, Tenn., playing in four matches over two days.