Feb. 18, 2010

Results

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Samford University women's tennis team faced its toughest competition of the 2010 spring season Thursday and dropped a 5-2 decision on the road against the 68th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. In the loss, Samford's Taylor Morgan and Rebecca Kirven both registered straight-set victories in singles play.

Morgan, the Bulldogs' talented junior from Jacksonville, Fla., knocked off Olesya Tsigvintseva 6-4, 6-4, in the No. 1 singles competition, while Kirven cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Danielle Terpko on court No. 6. With the win, Kirven remained undefeated on the season and improved her team-best record to 6-0.

Samford (4-2) was swept in Thursday's doubles competition and then suffered singles defeats on courts No. 2 through No. 5. The loss was only the Bulldogs' second of the season. On Saturday, Samford dropped a hard-fought match at Memphis 4-2.

With the win, Mississippi State (3-1) improved to 2-0 at home this year. The Bulldogs' lone loss of the season came against the seventh-ranked Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Samford women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The non-conference contest will be held at the Samford Tennis Center.