Chattanooga 7, Emory 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s tennis team defeat Emory 7-0 at the McCallie School tonight. The Mocs swept all nine matches to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Emory is the defending NCAA Division III champion, and battled hard in a number of matches. Senior Kaylene Chadwell and junior Kelsey Coots needed a tie-breaker to defeated Melissa Goodman and Beatrice Rosen at No. 2 doubles. UTC had already clinched the opening point, but the extra frame kept the crowd of over 100 into the match.
“I’m very pleased with the win,” stated head coach Jeff Clark. “Emory is a good team and we were ready to play. We knew it was going to be a tough match and I think we played well. Once again we got off to a great start in doubles and then carried the momentum over to singles.”
Junior Katie Polk and sophomore Rachele Gazzola started the match with a 6-1 win at No. 3. Junior Kayla Jones and freshman Samantha Caswell clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win at No. 1.
UTC won all six singles matches in straight sets on its way to its third shutout of the season. Jones was impressive with her (6-1, 6-1) win over Rosen at No. 1. Senior Claire Mulyadi was also strong in her (6-1, 6-2) win over Marissa Levine at No. 5. That win clinched the team victory for the Mocs.
“It was just a solid effort tonight from the whole team and we’re going to try to keep getting better with each match,” added Clark. “There is still a lot of tennis ahead of us but were glad to be 4-0.”
Samford 5, UAB 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The No. 71-ranked Samford University women’s tennis team extended its school-record home winning streak to 17-consecutive matches Saturday as the Bulldogs registered a 5-2 non-conference victory against the UAB Blazers in a cross-town rivalry match held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford (2-2) upped its record at home to 2-0 this season. The Bulldogs’ only losses of the 2015 campaign have come against No. 10 Georgia and No. 63 Wake Forest. Samford’s home winning streak is now 17 matches long and dates all the way back to March 23, 2013.
In Saturday’s home contest against UAB (1-3), the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point.
Samford’s combination of Jessica Northcutt and Yasmeen Ebada cruised to a 6-1 victory on court No. 2, while the Bulldogs’ pairing of Stephanie N’tcha and Carita Moolman clinched the early point with a 6-4 triumph over the Blazers’ Pardis Kianoush and Paula Castro, 6-1. Samford tandem of Northcutt and Ebada now boast a solid 3-1 record on the season.
In singles play, all six matches were settled in straight sets.
Samford proved to be victorious on courts No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6, while UAB earned wins on courts No. 4 and No. 5.
The Bulldogs’ relative dominance in singles play allowed them to secure Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the Blazers. N’tcha earned a 7-6, 6-3 win on court No. 1, while Ebada battled to a 6-3, 7-6 triumph in the No. 2 singles contest and Northcutt breezed to a 6-2, 6-2 win on court No. 3.
With her victory, Northcutt improved to 2-1 in singles play this season.
On court No. 6, Samford’s Moolman remained undefeated in singles with a lopsided 6-0, 6-2 triumph over UAB’s Castro. Moolman, the Bulldogs’ talented junior from Aranos, Namibia, is now a perfect 2-0 in singles play this year.
UNC Asheville 6, Western Carolina 1
Asheville, N.C. - Playing their third match of the season, the Western Carolina women's tennis team fell to mountain rival UNC Asheville 6-1 Saturday afternoon at the Asheville Racquet Club. Freshman Elizabeth Ansari picked up WCU's lone win in the match as she took the No. 4 singles point over Christine Boissevain 6-3, 7-5.
The Bulldogs swept the double matches as they won 6-3 in both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots and 6-1 at No. 3. All six of the singles matches were competitive but the Bulldogs were able to take the victory.
Junior Shannon Bettiol played in the No. 1 spot for the first time this season and fell to Ericka Rivero 6-4, 6-3. Senior Megan McLinden moved to No. 2 and fell to Emily McNall 7-5, 6-2 in a hard fought match. Junior Nicole Nielly fell at No. 3 to Amryn Soldier 6-2, 6-2. Junior Erin Maguire fell at No. 5, 6-2, 6-3, to Amalie Davidsen while freshman Montse Mesalles fell at No. 6, 6-1, 6-3, to Hunter Hall.