MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's tennis team won its second-straight city title with a 5-2 victory over intercity rival Charleston Southern on Sunday night at the College of Charleston Tennis Center at Patriots Point.
The Cougars (5-5) are currently on a two-match winning streak and battled the defending Big South Conference champion Buccaneers (2-4) for the doubles point with all three matches decided by a count of 8-5 in CofC's favor. Senior Emma Hayman (Wanganui, New Zealand) and sophomore Irene Viana (Paris, France) defeated CSU's top tandem of Olga Makova and Marija Dzakovic to clinch the decisive point heading into singles play.
There, CofC won four of six matches as Hayman and junior Katie Lee (Brisbane, Australia) increased the Cougars' lead to 3-0 with a pair of straight-set victories at No. 2 and No. 6 singles. Junior Caroline Newman (Greensboro, N.C.), who improved to an undefeated 6-0 in doubles with her sister Christin Newman (Greensboro, N.C.), sealed the match victory with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over CSU's Dzakovic at the No. 3 line.
"We really showed some improvement and fought incredibly hard against two talented teams today," said CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo whose team shut out Jacksonville State, 7-0, in the early portion of Sunday's doubleheader. "It is a successful day, when you can defeat two defending regular-season champions. Caroline Newman had a breakthrough day and Emma Hayman was as focused as she has been this season. I was also proud of Katie Lee's maturity while playing sick. We will have a few days to recover and prepare for our upcoming six matches in six days. It will be a great challenge for us."
The Cougars continue their eight-match homestand with No. 54 Wisconsin on Friday, March 18 at Patriots Point. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. (ET). Live scoring for all home matches are available via a "Live Scoring" link on the women's tennis homepage at: www.CofCSports.com.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 5, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 2
March 13, 2011
College of Charleston Tennis Center at Patriots Point
at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
SINGLES
No. 1 - Olga Makhova (CSU) def. Christin Newman (CofC), 6-1, 4-6, 7-5.
No. 2 - Emma Hayman (CofC) def. Brooke Pletcher (CSU), 6-3, 6-3.
No. 3 - Caroline Newman (CofC) def. Marija Dzakovic (CSU), 6-2, 6-1.
No. 4 - Alia Nour (CSU) def. Kinsey Casey (CofC), 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (12).
No. 5 - Keely Mulligan (CofC) def. Heather Isbell (CSU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-1.
No. 6 - Katie Lee (CofC) def. Susita Das (CSU), 6-2, 6-1.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - Hayman-Irene Viana (CofC) def. Makova-Dzakovic (CSU), 8-5.
No. 2 - Casey-Lee (CofC) def. Nour-Pletcher (CSU), 8-5.
No. 3 - Caroline Newman-Christin Newman (CofC) def. Isbell-Alexandra Walters (CSU), 8-5.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 2, 1*, 3
Singles: 2, 6, 3*, 4, 5, 1
