Eagles Defeated at Home by Furman
3/18/2012 7:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Tennis team was unable to break out of its current funk on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles fell at Hanner Tennis Complex to visiting Furman by a 7-0 score. The Paladins open their conference slate with a victory and improve their all-time mark against the Eagles to 24-5.
"The team competed hard today," said Head Coach Amy Bonner. "I felt like we made Furman earn the victory, and I was proud of Ali and Cameron taking their matches to three sets. We came up short in the match tiebreakers, but overall I felt like we were in each match."
A two-hour rain delay and the threat of more inclement weather led to the match beginning with singles play. The Eagles (4-10, 1-4 SoCon) didn't benefit from the reversal of traditional format. The Eagles fell in an early hole when Caitlin Kitchen (Kennesaw, Ga.) lost at No. 3 singles to Katherine Oudin, twin sister of professional tennis star Melanie Oudin. The Paladins took a 3-0 lead after Alex Moreno-Kaste and Amanda Murray defeated Alessandra Dzuba (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Natalie Maffett (Rome, Ga.) at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. The match-clincher for the Paladins came when Lauren Kline ousted Paola Garrido (Vigo, Spain) at No. 1 singles, 6-2, 6-1. Cameron Williams (Norcross, Ga.) and Allison Beeler (Alpharetta, Ga.) were both the unfortunate victims of losses in third-set match tiebreakers. Williams lost at No. 4 singles to Margaret Boyette, 5-7, 6-1, 10-6, while Beeler lost at No. 2 singles to Michele Stanford, 6-2, 4-6, 10-2. The loss snaps Beeler's two-match win streak for the week.
Despite the match outcome already having been decided, the Eagles still competed well in doubles action. Garrido and Kitchen were able to snatch an early break and stave off a late rally to persevere at No. 1 doubles over Kline and Moreno-Kaste, 8-6. The win is the duo's second in a row and sixth in eight contests for the season. However, the Paladins still won the doubles point. Boyette and Kelly Sullivan defeated Williams and Scottie French (St. Augustine, Fla.) at No. 2 doubles, while Maffett and Mimi Bollaci (Atlanta, Ga.) fell to Stanford and Murray at No. 3 doubles, 8-3.
"Playing singles really changes up the format," added Bonner. "I was hoping the team would still come out strong in doubles even though the overall match had been decided. Paola and Caitlin did just that. I was proud of my number one doubles team for working hard and coming out on top."
The Eagles will look to get back in the win column when they travel to North Carolina next weekend for bouts with UNC Greensboro and Elon. Matches are slated to begin on Sunday at noon in Greensboro and Monday at 2 p.m. in Elon.
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