CofC Falls to Florida Atlantic 4-1

Thursday, March 22

Boca Raton, FL - FAU Tennis Complex

11:00 AM

College of Charleston

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: CofCSports.com

3/22/2018 5:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis

BOCA RATON, FLA. – The College of Charleston women's tennis team (11-8) played a hard-fought road match against a tough Florida Atlantic (9-6) team on Thursday, but the Owls were able to ride a hot start to a 4-1 win over the Cougars.

The Owls picked up the doubles points with wins on courts two and three, but the Cougars very nearly pulled off a huge statement victory on court one, where Anastasia Palaska and Christi Woodson had the No. 57 ranked tandem of Aliona Bolsova and Jemi Aguilar on the ropes. However, the match was called when the point was clinched, forcing the College to walk away from a 5-2 advantage on the court without scoring the upset.

Bolsova, the No. 2 ranked singles player in the country, expanded FAU's lead with a win on court one, but Turner Yates returned to the lineup in a big way by defeating Kristen Thoms 6-2, 6-3 on court five to score CofC's lone point of the day. Florida Atlantic responded with a 6-3, 6-4 win on court four.

Christi Woodson stormed out to a 6-0 win in her opening set on court two, but FAU was able to win the matchup when Natalia Boltinskaya rebounded to win her next two sets 6-3 and 7-6(2), which concluded competition on all courts. Had things gone just a bit differently, both Rachel McNeely and Catalina Medici were in the midst of three-set encounters when action ceased.

The Cougars now return home for a span of five matches in five days. That grueling slate begins on Tuesday, when the Cougars host South Alabama at Patriots Point.

FAU 4, CofC 1

SINGLES
No. 2 Aliona Bolsova (FAU) def. Helena Nyikos (CofC) ~ 6-0, 6-0
Natalia Boltinskaya (FAU) def. Christi Woodson (CofC) ~ 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(2)
Rachel McNeely (CofC) vs. Marisa Ruiz (FAU) ~ 6-7, 6-4, DNF
Ja'Cara Gillis (FAU) def. Anastasia Palaska (CofC) ~ 6-3, 6-4
Turner Yates (CofC) def. Kristen Thoms (FAU) ~ 6-2, 6-3
Catalina Medici (CofC) vs. Jennifer Leib (FAU) ~ 6-2, 4-6, 0-3, DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 4, 2*
DOUBLES
Palaska/Woodson (CofC) vs. No. 57 Bolsova/Aguilar (FAU) ~ 5-2, DNF
Boltinskaya/Ruiz (FAU) def. McNeely/Nyikos (CofC) ~ 6-0
Gillis/Thoms (FAU) def. Arciniegas/Yates (CofC) ~ 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3*