Feb. 27, 2011

Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The 74th-ranked Samford University women's tennis team had its season-opening, six-match winning streak snapped Sunday as the Bulldogs fell short in a hotly-contested 4-3 Southern Conference decision against the UNC Greensboro Spartans on the road at the UNCG Tennis Center.

With the loss, Samford (6-1, 1-1 SoCon) suffered its first defeat of the 2011 campaign and dropped to 3-1 in road matches this season. On Saturday, the Bulldogs opened their SoCon schedule with an impressive 4-3 victory at Elon.

UNC Greensboro (4-1, 2-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Sunday. Since dropping a 6-1 decision at Virginia Tech on Jan. 30, the Spartans have rattled off consecutive victories against Coastal Carolina 5-2, East Carolina 5-2, Chattanooga 7-0 and Samford 4-3.

On Sunday, UNC Greensboro earned the all-important doubles point against Samford with wins on courts No. 1 and No. 2.

The Bulldogs were victorious in the No. 3 doubles contest as Madelie Janse Van Rensburg and Jessica Diamond defeated the Spartans' combination of Mikayla Rogers and Devon Sutherland, 8-6. Despite Samford's win on court No. 3, UNC Greensboro won the doubles point and took an early 1-0 lead in the match.

In singles play, the Bulldogs quickly evened the score at 1-1 with a victory from Andrie Meiring on court No. 2, 6-3, 6-3. With her singles win, Samford's Meiring improved her record on the season to an impressive 6-1 mark.

The teams then split singles victories on courts No. 3 and No. 4 to make the overall score of the match 2-2.

In the No. 4 contest, Samford's Kristin Lewis upended UNC Greensboro's Dilara Yurtkuran in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Lewis, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Odenville, Ala., improved her record on the season to 6-1.

Following Lewis' win on court No. 4, which evened the score at 2-2, UNC Greensboro then clinched the overall match victory with back-to-back triumphs on courts No. 5 and No. 1, respectively. Samford closed out the SoCon contest with a 6-4, 6-3 win from Lindsey Mallory in the No. 6 singles matchup to make the final score 4-3.

Mallory, the Bulldogs' talented junior from Louisville, Ky., improved her singles record on the season to 6-1. She also extended her winning streak to five-consecutive matches.

The 74th-ranked Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action March 6 at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue SoCon play with a home match against the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at the Samford Tennis Center in Birmingham, Ala.