No. 68 Charleston Tennis Primed for Key Match at Furman
4/6/2010 7:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
A win for the Cougars (15-9, 8-0) would keep them in sole custody of first place in the conference and put them one step closer to hosting the conference tournament on Apr. 24-25. A win for the Paladins (11-6, 4-1 SoCon) would put them in a three-way tie with CofC and Samford at the top of the SoCon.
The Cougars cruised to a 7-0 win over Wofford on Mar. 31 at the Tennis Center at Patriots Point Stadium. The match was the team's third sweep over a conference squad after having already posted 7-0 wins over Western Carolina and Appalachian State.
Furman is also coming off a 7-0 win over the Mountaineers on Mar. 31. The victory was the Paladins second straight conference sweep after beating Chattanooga 7-0 on Mar. 28. The team's only stumbling block in conference has been a 6-1 loss to Samford in Birmingham, Ala. on Mar. 27.
The Paladins have won the regular season matchup six years running, including 6-1 wins from 2007-09. CofC recovered to defeat top-seeded Furman 4-1 in the championship match of the SoCon tournament in 2009 and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Angelo Anastopaulo's team returns all four players who earned wins against the Paladins in the championship match last year. Juniors Kinsey Casey (Alpharetta, Ga./Northview) and Keely Mulligan (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) won a hard-fought 9-8 victory at the No. 2 doubles spot to give the Cougars the doubles point.
Casey also picked up a point for Charleston with a 7-5, 6-2 win at the No. 6 singles spot. Senior Holly Dowse (Tuncurry, Australia/Forster) beat Furman's Monica Arguello in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) at the No. 2 spot and fourth-seeded Anna Lee Evans (Vilas, N.C./Watauga) won a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Susan Bitetti.
Arguello leads the team with an 11-5 record at the top singles spot, including a 5-0 conference mark. She is currently on a nine-match win streak for the Paladins. Dowse holds a 9-11 record in the top spot, including a 6-1 mark against SoCon opponents. Sophomore Caroline Newman (Greensboro, N.C./Page) boasts the team's best singles record at 17-6 and a perfect 8-0 record in the conference.
Charleston's top doubles pair of Dowse and junior Emma Hayman (Wanganui, New Zealand/New Mexico) are currently ranked 31st in the country according to the latest ITA poll. The duo are 13-5 this year and 4-0 in conference. They are riding a six-match win streak and are 9-1 in the last 10 matches.
Players Mentioned
