Women's Tennis Downs Winston-Salem State, Drops Match with Elon

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Friday’s weather forecast in the North Carolina area forced the Georgia Southern women’s tennis team to compete in back-to-back matches on Sunday, as the Eagles defeated Winston-Salem State by a 7-0 decision, before falling to Elon 4-3.

The Eagles (9-9, 2-5 SoCon) had to travel to multiple locations on Sunday, opening play against the Lady Rams of Winston-Salem State at 9 a.m., before traveling to Elon for their 2:30 p.m. matchup with the Phoenix.

The Eagles surpassed last season’s mark of eight victories with their win over Winston-Salem State.

In their matchup with Winston-Salem State, GSU gained the early advantage taking all three matches in doubles competition. In the revised doubles lineup, Christine Caforio (Acworth, Ga.) and Ali Beavers (Kingsport, Tenn.) dropped Shannon Loughnan and Laken Joyce at the No. 1 position by a final of 8-1. Molly Maddox (Rome, Ga.) and Melanie Rolle (Gainesville, Fla.) were successful from the No. 2 seed over Gabrielle Benjamin and Johanna Nunez 8-2.

In singles action, GSU recorded victories from all six positions. Beavers earned the 13th victory of her freshman campaign ousting Joyce in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0 from the No. 2 seed. Senior Kelli Helms (Cairo, Ga.) improved her record to 3-0 on the year as she defeated Jade Heggins 6-0, 6-0 from the No. 6 slot.

Georgia Southern then headed to Elon, N.C. for their 2:30 match with conference foe Elon. The Phoenix took the early advantage winning two out of three doubles matches. Kegerreis and Maddox upended Elon’s tandem of Jenn Tucci and Hayley Wahl 8-5.

In singles play, Georgia Southern gave Elon all they could handle, but fell just short. Maddox won her fourth match of the day in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 over Laura Graybill at the No. 4 seed. Caforio recorded the win at No. 5 singles in a hard fought match over Elon’s Wahl by a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 decision and sophomore Jessica Fuller (Cartersville, Ga.) picked up the win at the No. 6 slot edging Whitney Butcher 2-6, 6-4 (7-6).

“I was proud of the way we competed,” said GSU coach Amy Bonner. “Playing two matches in one day is never easy, but we fought hard and never gave up. It will help us heading into our last two regular-season matches this week.”

The Eagles return to the hard-courts Wednesday, April 9 as they play host to the College of Charleston. The match is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start.

Georgia Southern 7, Winston-Salem State University 0

Doubles:

1. Caforio/Beavers (GSU) def. Loughnan/Joyce (WSSU) 8-1

2. Maddox/Rolle (GSU) def. Benjamin/Nunez (WSSU) 8-2

3. Kegerreis/Matlosz (GSU) def. Lavan/Heggins (WSSU) 8-1

 Singles:

1. Kristi Kegerreis (GSU) def. Shannon Loughnan (WSSU) 6-0, 6-1

2. Ali Beavers (GSU) def. Laken Joyce (WSSU) 6-0, 6-0

3. Molly Maddox (GSU) def. Johanna Nunez (WSSU) 6-0, 6-2

4. Christine Caforio (GSU) def. Terese Lavan (WSSU) 6-0, 6-1

5. Shea Huxtable (GSU) def. Gabrielle Benjamin (WSSU) 6-0, 6-1

6. Kelli Helms (GSU) def. Jade Heggins (WSSU) 6-0, 6-0

Elon 4, Georgia Southern 3

Doubles:

1. Bailey/Milian (ELON) def. Caforio/Beavers (GSU) 8-4

2. Kensrue/Butcher (ELON) def. Maddox/Rolle (GSU) 8-4

3. Kegerreis/Matlosz (GSU) def. Tucci/Wahl (ELON) 8-5

Singles:

1. Deanna Bailey (ELON) def. Kristi Kegerreis (GSU) 6-3, 6-1

2. Anna Milian (ELON) def. Melanie Rolle (GSU) 6-4, 6-3

3. Paige Kensrue (ELON) def. Ali Beavers (GSU) 6-2, 6-1

4. Molly Maddox (GSU) def. Laura Graybill (ELON) 6-2, 6-1

5. Christine Caforio (GSU) def. Hayley Wahl (ELON) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

6. Jessica Fuller (GSU) def. Whitney Butcher (ELON) 2-6, 6-4 (7-6)

Category: Women's Tennis

Published on Sunday, 06 April 2008 00:23