UNCG 4, Coastal Carolina 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s tennis team earned a dramatic 4-3 victory against Big South foe Coastal Carolina to open the 2015 season Sunday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center.
UNCG opens the season 1-0 for the first time in three seasons after defeating Coastal Carolina who had 18 wins from a season ago.
With the match tied at 3-3, the deciding point came down to junior Amy Ellis at No. 5 singles. Ellis won the first set 7-6 (8-6) against Natalie Wall but Wall bounced back to win the second set, 6-1. In the final set, Ellis was able to take a 3-0 lead after breaking her opponent’s serve. Both players won a game each to make it 4-1 before Ellis won the final two games clinching the match at 6-1.
In doubles, the Spartans took a 1-0 lead after winning a tough tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles. At No. 3 doubles, Ellis and classmate Soumeya Anane took down Natalie Wall and Sara Bondar, 8-2.
Coastal Carolina earned an 8-4 victory at No. 1 doubles as Libby Scott and Romane Delay defeated senior Kayla Gammie and freshman Corinne Blythe.
In the final doubles match, senior Stephanie Falcon and freshman Blaine Boaz won a tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-4), to clinch the doubles point over Cari Berry and Honami Yazawa. Falcon and Boaz were able to force a tiebreaker after being down 7-6.
In singles, Falcon gave UNCG a 2-0 lead after taking down Berry, 6-0, 6-4 in straight sets. Gammie made the score 3-0 in favor of the Spartans after winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2 over Yazawa.
Coastal Carolina made a rally tying the overall score at 3-3 after winning three-straight singles matches at No. 1, No. 6 and No. 4. Scott won in straight sets, 7-5,6-1 against Anane.
At No. 6 singles, Bondar defeated junior Jamie Grinberg, 6-3, 6-3 to make the score 3-2. Delay tied the match at 3-3 after defeating Blythe, 6-4, 6-4.
Wofford 7, King University 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College women’s tennis team advanced to 2-1 on the season after taking care of business against the visiting Tornadoes of King University, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at the Reeves Tennis Center.
The match opened with swift doubles action. Duo Catherine Martin and Mareli Sanchez finished first in the No. 2 spot, with decisive 6-0 victory over King’s Nia Gilliam and Pearl Annan. Kalli Karas and Lauren Reid, playing at No. 1, earned a 6-2 victory over their competitors Katya Cerny and Haley Maloney.
“I was really proud of the effort the girls put in today,” said third year head coach Krissy Hall. “The girls worked hard and continued to improve on what we’ve been working on.”
The Terriers were efficient in singles play as well. Martin played at No. 1, taking down Cerny, 6-2, 6-4 in the most tightly contested match of the afternoon. Senior Audrey Coventry played at No. 2 with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over King’s Maloney. Karas (6-1, 6-0) took on Gilliam, while Reid (6-0, 6-0) faced Annan, playing at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots respectively. Freshman Samantha Russell and sophomore Taylor Carlson earned wins by default at No. 5 and No. 6.
“It was great to be able to come out on top in our home opener. The weather was great, and we really enjoyed the support,” Hall remarked. “We have a double header next Saturday and are hoping to see our students out there again.”
ETSU 7, Radford 0
BRISTOL, Tenn. - On the heels of a road win at Appalachian State Saturday, the ETSU women's tennis team continued its winning ways Sunday, cruising past Radford, 7-0, in a non-conference match at the Bristol Racquet & Fitness Club in Bristol, Tenn.
The Buccaneers (2-0) began the day by taking the doubles point over Radford, with ETSU's three doubles tandems finishing nearly simultaneously.
ETSU carried that momentum into singles play, where all six Buccaneer players came away victorious, including freshman Melissa Esguerra, who earned her first collegiate win.
"Today was much better—I was more relaxed," Esguerra said. "I felt like I was getting the hang of it."
Also finding the win column in singles play for the Bucs were Lyn Yee Choo, Reginka Nychytailova, Ana Gerbasi, Ionna Markesini, and Jayde Viccars.
All six ETSU players won their singles matches in straight sets, with Nychytailova pulling out a hard-fought victory at No. 2 singles, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).
Louisville 4, Furman 0
DURHAM, N.C. – Louisville blanked Furman, 4-0, Sunday morning in the second day of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at the Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center in Durham, N.C.
The Cardinals won two out of three doubles matches to win the opening point. Chloe Willetts and Olivia Boesing beat freshman Harper Caswell and sophomore Blair Martin, 6-1, at flight two, and Elle Stokes and Ellie Gerlach downed sophomore Karlee Bryce and freshman Joan van Lochem, 6-4, in the number three match-up. The Paladins were victorious in the top-seeded match, as senior Alex Moreno-Kaste and sophomore Ansley Speaks recorded a 6-1 win over Ariana Rodriguez and Manuela Velasquez.
Louisville won three singles matches for the team victory. Velasquez topped Martin, 6-0, 6-4, at flight three, and Jessie Lynn Paul posted a 6-4, 6-1 win over Bryde at flight four. In the flight six match, Willets bested van Lochem, 6-2, 6-4.
Matches at flights one, two, and five were unfinished. Speaks led Stokes, 7-5, 5-0, in the top match, while Moreno-Kaste came from behind after dropping set one, 6-3, to Rodriguez to win the second set, 6-0, at number two. The duo was tied at 2-all in the third set. At flight five, Boesing won set one, 6-3, over Caswell, and the score in the second set was knotted at 6-6.
The Paladins (1-2) will face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., on January 31.
Wake Forest 4, Samford 0
ATHENS, Ga. -- In its final match of the prestigious 2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend being held at the University of Georgia, the 71st-ranked Samford University women’s tennis team dropped a 4-0 decision to the No. 63 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in an early-season contest held Sunday at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Facility.
On the final day of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Samford (0-2) suffered its second straight loss to a nationally-ranked opponent as Wake Forest (3-1) rallied for a 4-0 victory. The Bulldogs opened their weekend in thrilling fashion by winning the doubles point against No. 10-ranked Georgia and taking a 1-0 advantage over the Bulldogs.
The feat marked the first time in school history that Samford held an advantage over a top-10 ranked opponent.
Against Wake Forest on Sunday, the Bulldogs fell short of duplicating their doubles success versus Georgia. The Demon Deacons earned the doubles point and an early 1-0 advantage with victories on courts No. 2 and No. 3.
In the No. 1 doubles matchup, Samford’s combination of Stephanie N’tcha and Carita Moolman was tied with Wake Forest’s duo comprised of Kasey Gardiner and Luisa Fernandez, 4-4, as play was called off.
The singles competition proved to be a boon for the Demon Deacons on Sunday as they registered straight-set victories on courts No. 1, No. 4 and No. 2 to secure the 4-0 team win.
The ITA Kick-Off Weekend events were created in 2009 as qualifiers for the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Sixty schools compete for the remaining 15 spots in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, with a reserved spot for the host institution.
After ITA Kick-Off Weekend host sites were named, a draft was held with schools selecting which site to play at in order of year-end ITA Team Rankings.