Chattanooga 4, Stetson 3
DeLand, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s tennis team scored a big road win at Stetson today. The Mocs snapped the Hatters’ eight match winning streak with a 4-3 victory in DeLand, Fla.
“It was a good win,” stated UTC head coach Jeff Clark. “We beat a really good team on their home courts today. I thought we scrapped and fought all day and were fortunate to come out with a win.”
Chattanooga won the doubles point for the 10th time in 11 outings this season. Stetson took the No. 3 match when Arijana Korac and Maja Salibasic defeated senior Claire Mulyadi and junior Katie Polk (8-4).
UTC responded with 8-5 wins at No. 2 and No. 1. Senior Kaylene Chadwell and junior Kelsey Coots beat Isabella Fernandez and Eveline Lepinay to improve to 6-2 in the spring. Junior Kayla Jones and Samantha Caswell defeated Alizee Michaud and Ashley Dean to improve to 10-1 at No. 1.
Leading 1-0, UTC started slow in singles play. Stetson jumped out to a 3-1 lead and was close to taking the match after wins at 1, 4 and 6.
Mulyadi kept the Mocs alive with her (6-2, 6-1) win at No. 5. Chadwell outlasted Arijana Korac at No. 3 in one of the longest unfinished matches you will see. After 90 minutes, Korac took the first set (7-6) in an 8-6 tiebreaker. Chadwell went up 2-0 in the second before Korac was forced to retire.
That left junior Kelsey Coots as the last one on the court against Fernandez at No. 2. Fernandez won the first set 6-3, but Coots battled back to take the second 6-2. Coots fell behind in the third, trailing 4-1 and 5-3 before running off four straight games. Up 6-5, she was down 15-40 in the last game, but still managed to close out the win.
“Kelsey came through in the clutch,” added Clark. “CC got a great straight-sets win and Kaylene grinded out in a tough match.
“I am proud of the team. We’ve got to keep working hard and continue to improve. We have a lot of tough matches ahead of us.”
ETSU 4, College of Charleston 3
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Just one day after suffering a narrow, 4-3 setback, ETSU captured a win by that same margin, defeating College of Charleston on the road in non-conference action Wednesday.
College of Charleston obtained the doubles point; however, the Buccaneers (7-3) responded by winning four of the six singles points, with Lyn Yee Choo, Ana Gerbasi, Ionna Markesini, and Jayde Viccars earning victories.
"It's great to finally get a 4-3, team-performance victory," ETSU coach Travis Sandlant said. "College of Charleston is a solid team. This win is a good way to go into next week with confidence heading into conference."
Choo and Markesini started off singles play with wins at the No. 1 and No. 5 spots, respectively. The Cougars (1-10) got a win at No. 4 to retake a 3-2 match lead; however, Viccars and Gerbasi won in succession for the Bucs to seal ETSU's the 4-3 victory.
Gerbasi clinched the match with a win at No. 3 Singles, defeating College of Charleston's Katherine Schofield in a hard-fought, three-set effort, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
"The last couple weeks have been really tough for the team," Gerbasi said. "I am proud that we all fought to get this win so that we can continue gaining confidence."
With her victory at No. 1 Singles, Choo improved her record to a team-best 9-1, and is in the midst of a four-match win streak.
UCF 4, Furman 3
ORLANDO, FLA. – UCF outlasted Furman, 4-3, Wednesday at the UCF Tennis Complex in Orlando, Fla.
The Knights won two of three doubles matches to claim the opening point. Clair Mendell and Sophia Baptista downed sophomore Blair Martin and freshman Alejandra Gil, 6-3, at flight two, then Monica Matias and Cortney Cesarini combined to defeat sophomore Karlee Bryde and rookie Joan van Lochem, 6-4, at number three. The flight one match was unfinished.
Martin evened the score with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Mendell at flight three singles, but the Knights went back on top, 2-1, when Matias topped Bryde, 6-3, 7-5, at number four. Sophomore Ansley Speaks helped the Paladins even the score with a 6-0, 7-5 victory versus Caroline Eberhart in the top-flighted match, but the Knights put together wins at flights two and five for the team victory. Cesarini held on to beat senior Alex Moreno-Kaste, 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, at number two, then Baptista downed freshman Harper Caswell, 6-4, 7-5, at number five. Gil was victorious for Furman at flight six, defeating Annika Hepp, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(10-5).
The Paladins (2-9) are in the midst of a Spring Break trip to Florida. Furman will conclude the trip on Saturday at 11 a.m. at South Florida.