Samford 7, Kennesaw State 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The No. 71-ranked Samford University women’s tennis team kicked off its four-match homestand in impressive fashion Saturday as the Bulldogs rolled to a dominant 7-0 non-conference victory against the Kennesaw State Owls in an early-season contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (1-2) swept all three doubles matches to take an early 1-0 advantage over Kennesaw State (0-2). The Bulldogs’ combination of Stephanie N’tcha and Carita Moolman cruised to a 6-2 triumph on court No. 1, while Samford’s duo comprised of Yasmeen Ebada and Jessica Northcutt set the tone early with a 6-1 victory in the No. 2 doubles contest.
On court No. 3, the Bulldogs’ pairing of Savannah Wood and Iva Parapunova registered a similar 6-1 win over the Owls’ tandem of Abbie Grant and Christina Martin.
In singles play, Samford quickly extended its lead to 3-0 with quick straight-set victories on courts No. 6 and No. 5.
On court No. 5, the Bulldogs’ Parapunova dazzled the crowd with a brilliant 6-0, 6-4 triumph over Kennesaw State’s Martin. With her victory, Samford’s junior transfer from Montana State improved to 1-0 on the season. Moolman, the Bulldogs’ junior native of Aranos, Namibia, defeated the Owls’ Gabriela Bueno, 6-0, 6-1, in the No. 6 singles matchup.
Samford also picked up straight-set victories in singles play on courts No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4. Ebada earned a 7-5, 6-2 win on court No. 2, while Northcutt posted a 6-1, 7-5 triumph on court No. 3 and Wood steamrolled Kennesaw State’s Isabela Castro on court No. 4.
On court No. 1, Samford’s N’tcha battled back to defeat the Owls’ Virginie Stein in the closest match of the day, 4-6, 7-5, 10-7. N’tcha improved to 1-2 in singles play this season with the victory.
ETSU 6, Belmont 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - ETSU took the doubles point, along with five of six singles points, to put away non-conference opponent Belmont, 6-1, Saturday evening in Nashville, Tenn. With the win, the Buccaneers remain unbeaten, standing at 3-0 midway through their season's second weekend.
ETSU took a 1-0 lead into singles play after opening with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles spots.
At No. 1 Doubles, Lyn Yee Choo and Ana Gerbasi knocked off the Bruins' (0-4) Lindsey Whitehead and Kendall Warren, 6-1. Meanwhile, ETSU's Ionna Markesini and Melissa Esguerra also earned a 6-1 victory at No. 3 Doubles.
"These matches are the ones that will help us get rhythm for the next ones," Gerbasi said. "I think we have a good team—we just have to work hard every match and the results will come."
Jessica Brumit and Reginka Nychytailova were in the midst of a tightly-contested match at the No. 2 spot when the Bucs clinched the doubles point.
The Buccaneers (3-0) continued to assert themselves in singles play, with five of ETSU's six players finding the win column—each in straight sets.
Through the team's first three matches, ETSU has posted a cumulative singles record of 16-2.
Wofford 7, Savannah State 0
Wofford 7, North Carolina A&T 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College women’s tennis team swept the competition in doubleheader action on Saturday afternoon at the Reeves Tennis Center, taking 7-0 victories over both Savannah State and North Carolina A&T.
The Terriers’ 4-1 start to the season marks the best beginning for the program since the 2008 season, in which Wofford began at 10-1 under the direction of current men’s tennis head coach Rod Ray.
The Terrier women opened up splitting the doubles point. Sophomore Catherine Martin and junior Mareli Sanchez swept the No. 2 position, defeating Jennyfer Vivas and Bria Burrows 6-0. Sophomore Kalli Karas and freshman Lauren Reid faced a setback at No. 1 against Kamelia Dimitrova and Sandy Lochu, falling 6-3. Sophomore Taylor Carlson and freshman Samantha Russell won by default, sealing the doubles point.
In singles, Reid claimed the first of six singles victories for the Terriers. The freshman earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Tiffany Williams at No. 5 spot, finishing first. Classmate Samantha Russell wasn’t far behind, claiming a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Burrows at No. 3 just minutes later. Karas would finish next, earning a 6-0, 6-1 win over Vivas at No. 3, securing the Terrier victory. Audrey Coventry earned a victory at No. 2 next, winning on a tiebreaker, 10-7, after splitting the first two sets 4-6, 6-2. Martin was the last to finish, defeating Dimitrova, 6-3, 7-5. Sanchez earned a win by default at No. 6.
In the afternoon, the Terriers remained dominant, earning another sweep against the opponent. The women were efficient in doubles play, dropping only two games throughout the three matches. The matches finished in order, with Karas and Reid winning 6-0 at No. 1, Martin and Sanchez taking No. 2, 6-1, and Carlson and Russell earning a 6-11 win at No. 3.
In singles, Wofford needed a bit more of an effort, yet still managed to win all six points. Karas finished at No. 3, defeating Nadia Hilton- Adams, 6-1, 6-1. Reid finished second, claiming a No. 5 spot victory, 6-1, 6-0 over Alexus Morgan. Next was Russell, playing at No. 4, who toppled Kayla Jefferson in a perfect 6-0, 6-0 win. Audrey Coventry wrapped up next, knocking out Kenya Colbert at No. 2, 7-5, 6-2. Martin played at No. 1 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Khalia Powell, and Carlson took down Christina Johnson, 7-5, 6-4 at the No. 6 spot.
Chattanooga 5, Eastern Kentucky 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s tennis team improved to 3-0 with a 5-2 win at Eastern Kentucky today. The Mocs won the doubles point and four singles matches to remain undefeated.
UTC jumped out to quick 3-0 leads at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Junior Kayla Jones and freshman Samantha Caswell were first off the court with a 6-2 win at No. 1. Senior Kaylene Chadwell and junior Kelsey Coots clinched the point with a 6-3 victory at No. 2.
Junior Katie Polk and sophomore Rachele were up 5-2 and serving for the set at No. 3 when their match was called once the point was decided.
Coots quickly gave the Mocs a 2-0 lead with her (6-2, 6-1) win over Melissa Gerritsen at No. 3. The Colonels got on the board when Amadine Faouzi defeated Jones (7-5, 6-2) at No. 1.
Freshman Samantha Caswell battled hard in her (6-4, 6-3) win at No. 4. She was down 4-2 in the first set and had to fight off three game points to keep from trailing 5-2. She ended up winning the next four games to take the first set. She was down 3-2 in the second before claiming another four in a row.
EKU (0-3) closed the team gap to 3-2 when Kristina Labeja defeated Chadwell (6-4, 7-5) at No. 2. Junior Alison Storie clinched the match with a (6-1, 6-3) victory over Raquel Montalvo at No. 6. Senior Claire Mulyadi closed it out with a win at No. 5
“It was a hard-fought match against a very good team on their home court,” said head coach Jeff Clark. “We are looking forward to getting back home and hosting Emory next weekend.”
Wake Forest 7, Furman 0
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest topped Furman, 7-0, Saturday morning at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Demon Deacons won two out of three doubles matches to clinch the opening point. Kimmy Guerin and Samantha Asch downed freshman Harper Caswell and sophomore Blair Martin, 6-0, at flight two, then Furman sophomore Karlee Bryde and rookie Joan van Lochem bested Andrea Retolaza and Courtney Meredith, 6-2, at flight three. Kasey Gardiner and Luisa Fernandez recorded a 6-4 victory over sophomore Ansley Speaks and senior Alex Moreno-Kaste in the decisive top-seeded match.
Wake Forest swept the singles matches for the team win. Guerin posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Speaks at flight one, and Xue Zhang came from behind for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory versus Moreno-Kaste at number two. At flight three, Fernandez defeated Martin, 7-5, 6-3, and Asch downed Bryde, 7-5, 6-1, at flight four. Gardiner notched a 6-2, 6-2 win versus Caswell at flight five, and Karen Forman completed the sweep with a 6-4, 6-0 win over van Lochem at number six.
The Paladins (1-3) return home to take on UNC Asheville on February 11 at 3 p.m. at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
NC State 7, Western Carolina 0
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Western Carolina women’s tennis team returned to action Saturday morning after opening their season Friday afternoon with a victory over North Carolina A&T. The Catamounts traveled over to Raleigh, N.C., to face ACC foe North Carolina State. The Wolfpack is led by nationally-ranked singles player Joanna Nalborska. Senior Megan McLinden drew the tough task of facing the 66th-ranked singles player in the NCAA and put up a strong fight falling 6-0, 6-4. The match would not go WCU’s way as the Wolfpack took a 7-0 victory.
WCU would not go down easy though as they battled in every single match. In doubles McLinden and junior Shannon Bettiol fell in the top spot 6-0, junior Nicole Nielly and freshman Elizabeth Ansari fell in the No. 2 match 6-1 and junior Erin Maguire and freshman Montse Mesalles dropped the No. 3 match 6-2.
"I couldn't be more pleased than I am about our effort today,” said head coach Michaela Kissell-Eddins. “N.C. State is a great team of competitors and each point, game, and set that we won we had to really play our best game to do it. There are some things in our games we definitely need to still sharpen, but I think our girls leave this match with a lot of pride and motivation to hit the practice courts on Monday. This team has come so far since the beginning of this year and I’m excited to see how much further we can progress this semester."
The singles matches featured a number of tough battles. Bettiol won the opening set of the No. 2 singles match 6-3 over Liza Fieldsend. Fieldsend came back to take the second set 6-2 before topping Bettiol in the third and deciding set 6-4.
Maguire also battled till the end as she fell in the No. 5 singles match 6-3, 7-6. The tiebreaker was back-and-forth with N.C. State’s Tayla Stenta pulling out the win 8-6. Nielly went toe-to-toe with Elisha Hande in the No.3 singles match. Hande pulled out the close victory 7-5, 6-3.
WCU’s two freshmen, Ansari and Mesalles, were both blanked in their first sets 6-0 but they both came back in the second sets to pick up a few game wins. Ansari fell 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4 and Mesalles was defeated 6-0, 6-3 at No. 6.
Wake Forest 6, UNCG 1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The UNCG women’s tennis team fell to No. 61 Wake Forest, 6-1, Saturday afternoon at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.
UNCG is 1-1 after the loss and Wake Forest improves to 5-2 with the victory.
In doubles, Wake Forest took a 1-0 lead after winning two matches. Kasey Gardiner and Luisa Fernandez defeated senior Kayla Gammie and freshman Corinne Blythe, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles.
At No. 2 doubles, Samantha Asch and Kimmy Guerin took down freshman Blaine Boaz and sophomore Yasmin Franco, 6-2 to clinch the doubles point.
Junior Amy Ellis and Soumeya Anane battled but were trailing 5-4 against Karen Forman and Courtney Meredith when the doubles point was won.
In singles, the Demon Deacons made it 2-0 after Meredith won in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 against junior Jamie Grinberg at No. 5 singles. Forman made it 3-0 after defeating Boaz, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
Guerin clinch the match with a straight sets win against Anane, 6-3, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. Xue Zhang pushed the advantage to 5-0 after a 6-2, 6-3 win against Gammie at No. 2 singles.
Andrea Retolaza defeated Blythe, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3 singles to make it 6-0. In the final match, Ellis earned a point for UNCG after winning a super tiebreaker in the third set, 1-0 (11-9). Ellis won the first set against Gardiner, 7-6 (7-5) but dropped the second set 1-6 before earning a tough 11-9 win at No. 4 singles.
Georgia Southern 5, Mercer 2
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Mercer women's tennis team fell 5-2 to Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at the Wallis Tennis Center.
The Bears won the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead in the match, but the Eagles quickly tied things up at 1-1 after taking the first singles point.
Haley Powell defeated Georgia Southern's Daria Vaskekina (6-2, 6-3) to pick up Mercer's second point of the day and put the Bears up 2-1. Georgia Southern won the final four singles matches to win, 5-2.
Next up, Mercer will host Savannah State on February 12 to open up the home slate of the 2015 season. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center.