Samford 6, Lamar 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women’s tennis team improved its 2015 home schedule to 4-1 on Saturday as the Bulldogs breezed past the Lamar Cardinals, 6-1, in a non-conference contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (4-4) rebounded from a hard-fought loss at No. 71-ranked Mississippi State on Thursday and improved to 4-0 mark when facing unranked opponents. All four of the Bulldogs’ losses this season have come against foes tabbed among the nation’s top 75.
Already this season, Samford has faced an arduous non-conference schedule and has competed against nationally-ranked foes No. 10 Georgia, No. 28 Auburn, No. 63 Wake Forest and No. 71 Mississippi State.
On Saturday, Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Lamar (3-3) by grabbing the doubles point. The Bulldogs’ No. 1 tandem comprised of Carita Moolman and Stephanie N’tcha clinched the competition with a thrilling 8-7 (6) triumph over the Cardinals Katya Lapayeva and Carolina Maco.
Samford’s first doubles win occurred on court No. 2 as Jessica Northcutt and Yasmeen Ebada rolled past Lamar’s combination of Andrea Ivanovic and Anna Spengler, 8-2.
In singles play, the Bulldogs’ notched quick straight-set victories on every court except No. 5. Samford’s N’tcha, Ebada, Northcutt, Moolman and Savannah Wood all proved to be triumphant in Saturday’s dual match.
Moolman, the Bulldogs’ athletic junior from Abomey-Calavi, Benin, defeated Lamar’s Maso on court No. 4, 6-2, 6-3, to remain undefeated on the season at 5-0.
Coastal Carolina 6, Wofford 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College women’s tennis faced a setback on Saturday morning, as the visiting Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina earned a 6-1 win at the Reeves Tennis Center.
Lauren Reid led the way for Wofford (4-3). The freshman earned her fourth singles victory of the season and the lone team point for the Terriers, defeating Mila Majtan in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
The match began with Coastal Carolina (3-4) sweeping the doubles point - and they never looked back. The No. 3 spot finished first, as Reid and sophomore Taylor Carlson fell to Romane Delay and Sara Bondar, 6-1. Next to finish was sophomore Kalli Karas and freshman Samantha Russell, who fell to Natalie Wall and Marie Babayan 6-4. Last to go were sophomore Catherine Martin and junior Mareli Sanchez, dropping a 6-4 decision to Libby Scott and Honami Yazawa at No. 1.
In singles Coastal was dominant throughout. At No. 4, Russell went three sets with Bondar before being defeated, 7-6, 3-6, 10-6.
The remaining singles wins for the Chanticleers happened in straight sets. Scott took down Audrey Coventry at No. 1, 6-1, 6-2. At No. 2, Yazawa beat Martin, 6-3, 6-2. Delay topped Karas at No. 3, 6-2, 7-5. At No. 6, Sanchez fell at the hands of Cari Berry, 6-3, 6-3.
South Carolina 7, Furman 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 20 South Carolina blanked Furman, 7-0, Saturday at the Mickel Tennis Center in Greenville, S.C.
The Gamecocks captured the opening point with wins at flight two and three doubles. Hadley Berg and Caroline Dailey teamed up to defeat sophomore Blair Matin and freshman Joan van Lochem, 8-3, at number two, and Elixane Lechemia and Megen Cochran topped sophomore Karlee Bryde and rookie Harper Caswell, 8-0, at number three. The flight one match was unfinished.
In singles play, Lechemia defeated sophomore Ansley Speaks, 6-4, 6-1, at flight one, and Dailey beat senior Alex Moreno-Kaste, 6-2, 6-2, at number two. In the flight three match-up, Blevins downed Martin, 6-4, 6-2, and Brigit Folland posted a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Bryde at number four. Ximena Siles Luna held on for a 6-4, 7-6(2) win versus Caswell at flight five, then Natalie Looney came from behind to down van Lochem, 5-7, 6-1, 1-0(8) in the number six contest.
The Paladins (1-7) will play their next nine matches on the road. Furman will travel to UNC Wilmington next Saturday for an 11 a.m. match-up then will play at Coastal Carolina Sunday at 11 a.m. Following a nine-day break, the team will embark on a Spring Break trip to Florida, where Furman will play North Florida, UCF, and South Florida. On March 21-22, the Paladins will play at Charlotte and Winthrop before opening the SoCon season at Samford and Chattanooga at the end of March.
Florida State 4, Mercer 0
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mercer women's tennis team dropped a 4-0 match to No. 34 Florida State on Saturday evening.
The Bears moved to 3-6 on the season, while the Seminoles improved to 5-2. Haley Powell saw her first action since an injury against Alabama State.
Next up, Mercer face Florida A&M on Feb 28 at 2 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla.