Cougars Advance to Semifinals with 4-0 Win Over Drexel

Friday, April 17

Williamsburg, Va.

12:00 PM

College of Charleston

Drexel

Cougars Advance to Semifinals with 4-0 Win Over Drexel

4/17/2015 10:43:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: CofCSports.com

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – College of Charleston women's tennis swept Drexel, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the CAA Championship on Friday afternoon at the Millie West Tennis Facility.

“To be the No. 2 seed, that's about as tough of a first match as you can get,” CofC Head Coach Angelo Anastopoulo said. “Drexel is talented; they were 15-2 entering this match with an RPI of 100. It's not generally what you would expect in a first round match and they gave us everything we could possibly handle.”

The Dragons (15-3, 2-2 CAA) acted as formidable opponents, winning at No. 3 doubles and pushing three singles matches to a third set when the Cougars (13-12, 5-1 CAA) clinched the match. Their final season record f 15-3 is the most wins ever recorded in program history.

After Drexel's Lea Winkler and Kendra Brunch took an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles, the All-CAA First Team tandem of senior Jenny Falcone and junior Katherine Schofield evened the score with an 8-3 win over Nicole Pivonika and Clay Rodriguez on court one. The 79^th ranked duo have now won seven straight matches as the Cougars' top seed, compiling a 13-7 record on the year.

The doubles point came down to No. 2-seeded senior Samantha Maddox and sophomore Mara Argyriou. The pair turned in an 8-3 triumph over Erin Bowsher and Ryshena Providence to clinch the doubles point and give CofC an early 1-0 lead.

“We played really well at No. 3 doubles; we gave Drexel every shot and doubles strategy there is, but they handled everything we gave them,” Anastopoulo said. “This was one of Katherine [Schofield] and Jenny [Falcone's] better matches all year and they've defeated the top doubles team in the nation. Samantha [Maddox] was able to elevate her game and Mara continue to play well [at the No. 2 spot] for us to win that doubles point.”

The match didn't increase in intensity when it moved to singles. Freshman Sarah Jane Jones won the first singles match for the Cougars with a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Brunch at the No. 6 spot. In her first conference tournament match, the Jacksonville, Fla. native was down 5-2 in the first set before changing strategies and coming back to win 7-5. The momentum propelled her to a 6-2 win in the second set.

At the No. 3 spot, Schofield won her first set over Rodriguez 6-4 before starting to falter halfway through the second set. After Rodriguez took a 4-3 lead in the second, Schofield found the energy to come back and earn her second 6-4 victory to give the Cougars a 3-0 lead.

Falcone clinched the match with a three-set triumph on court four. After suffering a 6-2 setback in the first set, the Davidson, N.C. native won the next two sets 6-2, 6-1 for her seventh straight singles victory, increasing her overall record to 16-9.

College of Charleston advances to the semifinals, where the Cougars will meet Elon on Saturday at 10 am. The Phoenix (15-7, 2-1 CAA) downed Towson 4-0 in the quarterfinals. The match comes just eight days after CofC edged Elon, 4-3, in a conference matchup at Elon.

“It was such a physical and emotional victory that I'm not quite sure what to expect this time,” Anastopoulo said of the rematch. “This is why you coach – to be involved in great tennis like that so it's a treat and a challenge to get to do it again eight days later.”

Fans can follow the action on Twitter @caasports or Instagram @caasports. Visit the conference website for highlights, live scoring and recaps.