College of Charleston
Furman
CofC Women?s Tennis Defeats Furman 6-1 in Historic Match
4/8/2010 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
GREENVILLE, S.C. - No. 68 College of Charleston women's tennis handed Furman its first home loss against a Southern Conference opponent in 13 years with a 6-1 Cougar victory on Wednesday afternoon.
The win clinches the No. 1 seed for CofC (16-9, 9-0), giving Charleston homecourt advantage in both men's and women's tennis for the Southern Conference Championship. Head coach Angelo Anastopoulo's team is guaranteed a share of the regular season conference title with Samford. A win on Apr. 15 over Georgia Southern would give the Cougars the regular season title outright.
"I'm so proud of the way the team performed in a match that had so much meaning," Anastopoulo said. "They had so much fight and determination to beat the most dominant women's tennis team in SoCon history."
The Paladins fall to 4-2 in the conference and 11-7 overall. Furman has not lost a home conference match since losing 4-3 to Chattanooga on Apr. 5, 1997.
The Cougars clinched the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and 3 spots. Senior Holly Dowse (Tuncurry, Australia/Forster) and junior Emma Hayman (Wanganui, New Zealand/New Mexico), who are currently ranked 31st in the country in doubles, earned an 8-3 victory over Furman's Monica Arguello and Lauren Kline for their seventh straight win. Senior Laura Borza (Toronto, Ontario/Mary Ward Secondary) paired with sophomore Caroline Newman (Greensboro, N.C./Page) for an 8-2 win at the third spot.
The singles competition was close with three matches going into third-set tiebreakers. Three Cougars won their first set, while Borza came from behind after a 6-1 loss in the first to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot.
"We knew coming into this match that Coach Southern would have her team prepared and they certainly did," Anastopoulo said. "The match was a lot closer than the score reflects."
Dowse defeated Arguello for a second time this afternoon with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win at the top spot. Newman and junior Kinsey Casey (Alpharetta, Ga./Northview) beat their opponents in straight sets from the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.
Sixth-seeded junior Keely Mulligan (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) rebounded from a tough 6-7 loss in the first set to pull out a 6-2, 6-1 win in the following sets.
Charleston returns home to host 67th-ranked Charleston Southern on Apr.12 before hosting Georgia Southern in its final regular season match on Apr. 15.
Singles
1. Holly Dowse (CofC) def. Monica Arguello (FUR) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
2. Lauren Kline (FUR) def. Emma Hayman (CofC) 6-1, 6-1
3. Caroline Newman (CofC) def. Jessica Preeg (FUR) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kinsey Casey (CofC) def. Michele Stanford (FUR) 7-5, 6-2
5. Laura Borza (CofC) def. Susan Bitetti (FUR) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Keely Mulligan (CofC) def. Jennifer Betts (FUR)
Doubles
1. Holly Dowse/Emma Hayman (CofC) def. Monica Arguello/Lauren Kline (FUR) 8-3
2. Jessica Preeeg/Jennifer Betts (FUR) def. Kinsey Casey/Irene Viana (CofC) 8-2
3. Laura Borza/Caroline Newman (CofC) def. Olivia Mau
Players Mentioned
