Chattanooga 5, UT-Martin 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s tennis team won its second straight match with a 5-2 victory over UT Martin today. Despite the chilly weather, the Mocs competed in singles on the outdoor UTC Tennis Courts and took four of the six matches.
Action started with singles play, and junior Alison Storie gave the Mocs a 1-0 lead with her (6-3, 6-1) win over Tamara Klimek at No. 6. Storie remains undefeated in spring singles action with her seventh straight win.
Freshman Samantha Caswell was next off the court with a (6-1, 6-0) win over Jessica Silva at No. 4. Senior Kaylene Chadwell also won in straight sets (6-3, 6-3), defeating Burcu Tari at No. 3.
Despite holding a 3-0 lead, the remaining matches were very close and all went three sets. UT Martin closed the team gap to 3-2 with wins at No. 1 and No. 2. That left senior Claire Mulyadi on the court in what would prove to be the deciding match at No. 5.
Mulyadi dropped the first set 6-1 against Elina Geut. She battled back in the second for a 6-2 win. Weather forced a move into the indoor courts at the UTC Racquet Center. Mulyadi fell behind 4-3 in the third frame, but battled back for the win. She also remains undefeated in spring singles with an 8-0 record.
“The singles were really tightly contested,” stated head coach Jeff Clark. “We won the first three but the other three were really close. They played really well at one and two. We were fighting and battling and senior C.C. Mulyadi came through. She just refused to lose and that was a great clinching win.”
UTC swept the three doubles matches for the final 5-2 score. Chattanooga improved to 7-1 overall while UT Martin dropped to 1-4. The Mocs are back in action on Wednesday, March 4, against Middle Tennessee. The Mocs host the Blue Raiders on the UTC Tennis Courts at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). Be sure to check the women’s tennis schedule page of a link to live scoring.
Samford 7, Louisiana-Lafayette 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University women’s tennis team earned its third shutout victory of the young 2015 dual-match season Sunday as the Bulldogs blanked the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, 7-0, in a South Regional matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the win, Samford (5-5) registered its second straight victory at home and improved to 5-1 when playing in the Samford Tennis Center this season. The Bulldogs also moved to 3-2 against South Region opponents.
Samford cruised its way to Sunday’s doubles point over Louisiana-Lafayette (3-6) by notching quick victories on courts No. 1 and No. 3.
In the No. 1 singles match, the Bulldogs’ No. 57-ranked combination of Stephanie N’tcha and Carita Moolman rolled to an 8-0 triumph over the Ragin’ Cajuns’ pairing of Elena Sava and Nelo Phiri. The point-clinching win occurred on court No. 3 as Samford’s Savannah Wood and Iva Parapunova tallied an 8-3 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette’s tandem of Abby Johnson and Melissa Burckhartt.
The Bulldogs’ N’tcha and Moolman improved their doubles record to 7-1 on the season and extended their winning streak to seven-consecutive matches.
Samford continued its stellar play in singles Sunday as the Bulldogs swept all six matches, including a trio of straight-set victories. Jessica Northcutt, Moolman and Wood were triumphant for Samford in straight sets, while N’tcha, Yasmeen Ebada and Parapunova all outlasted their Ragin’ Cajun counterparts in three sets to garner the lopsided 7-0 team victory.
Moolman, the Bulldogs’ junior native of Aranos, Namibia, tallied her team-leading sixth singles win of the season and moved to 6-1 in dual-match play.
The Samford University women’s tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their pre-Southern Conference schedule with a key in-state road test against the South Alabama Jaguars to be held in Mobile.
Florida Atlantic 4, Mercer 1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mercer women's tennis team was defeated 4-1 by Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon.
Mercer again played without Roxy Bartz, who was unable to make the trip due to injury. After falling behind 2-0 early in the match, Laura Kelly won 6-3, 6-3 at the number four spot to give the Bears their only point of the match.
Florida Atlantic won two more singles matches to clinch the victory 4-1. Both Xandra Fougner and Grace Korta won their first sets and were playing close second sets when the match was called.