CONWAY, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's tennis team ended their skid Tuesday and advanced to 3-3 on the season by way of a 6-1 win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4-3).
“It was a good match today against a very talented Coastal Carolina team,” Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo said. “It could have honestly gone either way, so I'm pleased with our performance.”
Doubles play started off a bit rocky and finished on a total nail-biter for the Cougars. In the third flight, CCU's Romane Delay and Marie Babayan slipped past Sara Jane Jones and Sarah Zschunke to give the Chanticleers an early advantage. Katherine Schofield and Mara Argyriou responded nicely in the second flight with a big 6-4 win over Cari Berry and Laura Mary to keep the Cougars alive and set up a decisive showdown in the first flight doubles to decide the point.
Liza Fieldsend and Rachel McNeely squared off against Libby Scott and Sara Bondar in the top flight showdown. The Cougars went down early, but battled their way back to tie the match at 6-6 before clinching the match 7-6 to steal the doubles point.
“We were down big in that match, and Liza did a really good job of keeping them fired up and engaged to come back and clinch the point,” Anastopoulo said. “So that certainly gave us a lot of confidence going into singles play.”
The College rode the momentum of their strong doubles-play into singles action, as four Cougars would win their opening set. Liza Fieldsend was the first to draw blood with a 6-2, 6-1 first flight win, followed closely by Brooke McAmis securing the dominant 6-1, 6-0 win over Romane Delay. Up 3-0, Katherine Schofield earned the fourth and deciding point a few minutes later with a 6-3, 6-3 win in the second flight to seal the win.
CofC wasn't done putting points on the board, even with the win in tow. Mara Argyriou pulled off a fifth flight win over Cari Berry by a score of 6-3, 6-2. Helena Nyikos put the cherry on the sundae of a win, coming back from a 3-6 deficit to gut out a 7-5 win in the second flight, followed by a 10-6 win in the tiebreak to secure the win.
The College will return home with a couple days off before heading out to face former SoCon rival Georgia Southern (5-1) on Friday at 1 p.m.
CofC 6, Coastal Carolina 1
SINGLES
Liza Fieldsend def. Libby Scott – 6-2, 6-1
Katherine Schofield def. Laura Mary – 6-3, 6-3
Brooke McAmis def. Romane Delay – 6-1, 6-0
Marie Babayan def. Rachel McNeely – 6-4, 6-5
Mara Argyriou def. Cari Berry – 6-3, 6-2
Helena Nyikos def. Sara Bondar – 3-6, 7-5, 10-6
DOUBLES
Fieldsend/McNeely def. Scott/Bondar – 7-6
Schofield/Argyriou def. Berry/Mary – 6-4
Delay/Babayan def. Jones/Zschunke – 6-2
