WILMINGTON, N.C. -- The College of Charleston women's tennis team (18-6, 6-0) capped its special regular season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over UNCW on Saturday in Wilmington. Elizabeth Nowak clinched the match with a tiebreak win in the third set to give Charleston its best CAA mark since joining the conference.

The Cougars, who will be the one seed at next weekend's CAA Championships, finished with an unblemished conference record for the first time since joining the CAA. The six league wins are also the most for the program in the CAA era.

CofC finishes the regular season with 18 wins, the most since the 2017 season.

UNCW got off to a hot start, claiming the doubles point despite the Cougars getting the first doubles win of the day from Clara Errard and Kate Earnhardt. The duo of Earnhardt and Errard finish the regular season with a 10-5 record playing together.

In singles, the Cougars would need four wins to come away with victory. Halli Trinkle won in straight sets to give CofC their first point of the day, but UNCW responded with swin on courts six and one to take a 3-1 lead. With the pressure applied, Charleston repsonded.

Kate Earnhardt and Maja Jekauc picked up victories on courts four and three, respectively, setting up a showdown on court five for the clincher. After the third set went to tiebreak, Elizabeth Nowak won that tiebreak 7-4 to deliver a win for the visiting Cougars. 

Head Coach Angelo Anastopoulo
"It was a great come from behind team victory against a feisty and talented UNCW team. Any time you can escape with a victory from the Bird Cage it is a great achievement. To finish the regular season 6-0 in the ultra-competitive CAA is something this team should be really proud of. Now, we turn our attention to final exams this week in the class room and the CAA final exam at next weekend's conference championships."

Full results are posted below.

Singles  
1. Sasha Belaya (UNCW) def. Slade Coetzee (COFC) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. Halli Trinkle (COFC) def. Zoe Huffman (UNCW) 6-4, 6-1
3. Maja Jekauc (COFC) def. Brinley Bell (UNCW) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Kate Earnhardt (COFC) def. Lauren Gish (UNCW) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
5. Elizabeth Nowak (COFC) def. Stela Joksimovic (UNCW) 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Rachel Marthinsen (UNCW) def. Victoria Walter (COFC) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles  
1. Sasha Belaya/Lauren Gish (UNCW) def. Halli Trinkle/Slade Coetzee (COFC) 7-5
2. Kate Earnhardt/Clara Errard (COFC) def. Zoe Huffman/Maddy Muller-Hughes (UNCW) 6-2
3. Brinley Bell/Anna Daniels (UNCW) def. Maja Jekauc/Elizabeth Nowak (COFC) 6-4

Up Next
The College of Charleston returns to action next weekend at the CAA Championships on the campus of Elon University. The tournament begins on Friday, April 29.