Feb. 26, 2010

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University women's tennis team will begin play in its challenging Southern Conference schedule Saturday at noon (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the College of Charleston Cougars to the Samford Tennis Center for a key conference opener.

Samford (6-2) heads into the contest riding the positive momentum of a two-match winning streak. Since dropping a hard-fought 4-2 road decision against 68th-ranked Mississippi State on Feb. 18, the Bulldogs have rattled off consecutive home wins versus Southern Miss 5-2 and UAB 7-0.

In Wednesday's dominant shutout victory against UAB, Samford swept the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. On court No. 2, the Bulldogs' combination of Rebecca Kirven and Andrie Meiring improved its record on the season to 5-2 with an 8-5 win against the Blazers' Brittany DeFelice and Giorgia Romeo.

Samford also cruised to victory in singles play by winning all six matches in straight sets.

On court No. 1, the Bulldogs' Taylor Morgan earned a 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Paula Alvarez, while Meiring tallied a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Romeo in the No. 2 singles match. Samford's Madelie Janse Van Rensburg cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 win on court No.3, while senior Stephanie Parkison notched a 6-2, 6-1 victory against DeFelice in the No. 4 singles contest.

Kirven, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Windermere, Fla., remained undefeated in singles play this season Wednesday as she tallied a 6-2, 7-5 win over UAB's Jenny Cape. In the matchup on court No. 6, Samford's Lindsey Mallory streaked to a 6-1, 6-0 victory against the Blazers' Richole Berger.

The Bulldogs head into Saturday's SoCon-opener with a perfect 5-0 record at home. Both of Samford's losses this season have occurred on the road against Memphis and Mississippi State.

College of Charleston (3-4) heads into its SoCon opener with aspirations of bouncing back from a 7-0 loss against No. 38 South Carolina on Feb. 24. The Gamecocks were the fourth nationally-ranked program that the Cougars have faced this season.

In the loss, College of Charleston's senior Laura Borza and sophomore Caroline Newman picked up their only win of the match at No. 3 doubles position by taking down Rita Maisak and Anya Morgina, 8-5.

Following Saturday's SoCon-opener against College of Charleston, the Samford women's tennis team will next be in action March 5 at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Atlanta, Ga., for a non-conference matchup versus Georgia State.