Wednesday, March 22
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
1:30 PM
College of Charleston
4
vs
3
Buffalo
Photo by: CofCSports.com
McNeely Buries Bulls with Thrilling Third Flight Finale
3/22/2017 7:35:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MT. PLEASANT – For the third time this season, it all came down to Rachel McNeely in singles play as the Cougars and Bulls were tied 3-3 with the match on the line, and once again, the junior came through to lift the Cougars to victory in a pulse-pounding match-clincher on court three.
CofC went in an early hole after surrendering the doubles point, despite McNeely and Liza Fieldsend prevailing 6-4 in the top flight. Things took a dark turn in the beginning of singles play, as Buffalo picked up wins on courts one and five to take the 3-0 lead and put CofC on the brink.
The Cougars got a jolt of life from their Mediterranean contingent as Anastasia Palaska and Mara Argyriou both picked up wins in quick succession. Palaska defeated Anna Savchenko 6-4, 6-3 in the fourth flight, while Argyriou overran Chantal Martinez Blanco 6-1, 6-2 on court two.
With the score at 3-2, eyes shifted to court six, where Sarah Jane Jones had a one-set lead on Sarjana Sudhir. Though her opponent was able to make the second set close, Jones was able to put her away 6-3, 6-4 to tie things up at 3-3.
McNeely had fallen 7-5 in her opening set, and hadn't even completed her second-set 6-3 bounce-back before all five of the other singles flights had finished. She and Mercedes Losada Rubio subsequently played the entirety of the third set knowing the match was on the line.
The two went blow for blow, trading their first five games before McNeely took the 4-2 advantage following the sixth game of the set. Losada Rubio fought back to make it 4-3, but McNeely pushed the advantage to 5-3, and eventually 6-4 to seal the CofC win. McNeely has now been in the deciding flight with the overall match tied 3-3 on three occasions this year, and has led the Cougars to victory on two-such occasions.
With the win, the College extends their winning streak to seven matches. The Cougars will put their streak on the line Thursday when they host the Clemson Tigers at 1:30 p.m.
CofC 4, Buffalo 3
SINGLES
Tanja Stojanovska (UB) def. Christi Woodson (CofC) ~ 6-4, 6-1
Mara Argyriou (CofC) def. Chantal Martinez Blanco (UB) ~ 6-1, 6-2
Rachel McNeely (CofC) def. Mercedes Losada Rubio (UB) ~ 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Anastasia Palaska (CofC) def. Anna Savchenko (UB) ~ 6-4, 6-3
Emel Abibula (UB) def. Turner Yates (CofC) ~ 6-3, 6-3
Sarah Jane Jones (CofC) def. Sarjana Sudhir (UB) ~ 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 3*
DOUBLES
Fieldsend/McNeely (CofC) def. Stojanovska/Kotok (UB) ~ 6-4
Savchenko/Martinez Blanco (UB) def. Argyriou/Palaska (CofC) ~ 6-4
Holterbosch/Losada Rubio (UB) def. Jones/Woodson (CofC) ~ 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
CofC went in an early hole after surrendering the doubles point, despite McNeely and Liza Fieldsend prevailing 6-4 in the top flight. Things took a dark turn in the beginning of singles play, as Buffalo picked up wins on courts one and five to take the 3-0 lead and put CofC on the brink.
The Cougars got a jolt of life from their Mediterranean contingent as Anastasia Palaska and Mara Argyriou both picked up wins in quick succession. Palaska defeated Anna Savchenko 6-4, 6-3 in the fourth flight, while Argyriou overran Chantal Martinez Blanco 6-1, 6-2 on court two.
With the score at 3-2, eyes shifted to court six, where Sarah Jane Jones had a one-set lead on Sarjana Sudhir. Though her opponent was able to make the second set close, Jones was able to put her away 6-3, 6-4 to tie things up at 3-3.
McNeely had fallen 7-5 in her opening set, and hadn't even completed her second-set 6-3 bounce-back before all five of the other singles flights had finished. She and Mercedes Losada Rubio subsequently played the entirety of the third set knowing the match was on the line.
The two went blow for blow, trading their first five games before McNeely took the 4-2 advantage following the sixth game of the set. Losada Rubio fought back to make it 4-3, but McNeely pushed the advantage to 5-3, and eventually 6-4 to seal the CofC win. McNeely has now been in the deciding flight with the overall match tied 3-3 on three occasions this year, and has led the Cougars to victory on two-such occasions.
With the win, the College extends their winning streak to seven matches. The Cougars will put their streak on the line Thursday when they host the Clemson Tigers at 1:30 p.m.
CofC 4, Buffalo 3
SINGLES
Tanja Stojanovska (UB) def. Christi Woodson (CofC) ~ 6-4, 6-1
Mara Argyriou (CofC) def. Chantal Martinez Blanco (UB) ~ 6-1, 6-2
Rachel McNeely (CofC) def. Mercedes Losada Rubio (UB) ~ 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Anastasia Palaska (CofC) def. Anna Savchenko (UB) ~ 6-4, 6-3
Emel Abibula (UB) def. Turner Yates (CofC) ~ 6-3, 6-3
Sarah Jane Jones (CofC) def. Sarjana Sudhir (UB) ~ 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 3*
DOUBLES
Fieldsend/McNeely (CofC) def. Stojanovska/Kotok (UB) ~ 6-4
Savchenko/Martinez Blanco (UB) def. Argyriou/Palaska (CofC) ~ 6-4
Holterbosch/Losada Rubio (UB) def. Jones/Woodson (CofC) ~ 7-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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