March 17, 2012

Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 loss in Southern Conference play Saturday as the Bulldogs were defeated by the UNCG Spartans in an early-conference matchup held at the Samford Tennis Center.

With the loss, Samford (9-3, 1-2 SoCon) dropped to 9-2 when playing at home this season. The Bulldogs opened the 2012 campaign with eight-straight victories at the Samford Tennis Center before falling to College of Charleston and UNCG (6-4, 1-0 SoCon) in two of their three most recent outings.

The Spartans moved to 2-1 in their last three matches and opened SoCon play with a road victory. UNCG won the doubles point Saturday and then tallied singles victories on courts Nos. 1, 4, 5 and 6.

Samford's singles wins were tallied by senior Madelie Janse Van Rensburg and true freshman Stephanie N'tcha. Janse Van Rensburg earned her second-straight victory by defeating the Spartans' Dilara Yurtkuran, 6-3, 6-0, on court No. 2, while N'tcha knocked off Alex Whitehead in the No. 3 singles contest, 6-4, 6-4.

With their respective wins, the Bulldogs' Janse Van Rensburg improved to 10-2 this season and N'tcha moved to 8-4 in dual-match play.

The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their four-match SoCon homestand against the Elon Phoenix in a critical conference showdown to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.