March 24, 2012
Results
GREENVILLE, S.C. -
In one of its toughest matches of the 2012 Southern Conference season, the Samford University women's tennis team came up short Saturday in a 5-2 decision against the Furman Lady Paladins. The Bulldogs' road contest was held at Furman's Mickel Tennis Center.
With the loss, Samford (10-5, 2-4 SoCon) moved to 1-1 in its current five-match conference road swing. On Thursday, the Bulldogs opened their trip with a decisive 7-0 victory at Western Carolina. Samford will continue play in its arduous road swing Saturday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C.
Furman (8-7, 3-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches Saturday. The Lady Paladins have been victorious in their last two meetings against Samford and own a 5-1 all-time record in the series.
In Saturday's SoCon showdown, the Bulldogs swept the doubles competition with wins from the pairings of Kristin Lewis and Lindsey Mallory on court No. 1, 8-3, Madelie Janse Van Rensburg and Rebecca Kirven on court No. 2, 8-6, and Stephanie N'tcha and Adri Lochner in the No. 3 matchup, 8-5.
Samford's tandem comprised of Janse Van Rensburg and Kirven earned its third-straight victory in doubles play and improved to 9-5 on the season. The Bulldogs' combination of Lewis and Lindsey Mallory moved to 12-3 in dual-match play, while true freshmen Lochner and N'tcha improved to 8-3 on court No. 3.
Despite losing the doubles point, Furman bounced back in singles play and rallied for wins on five of the six courts. With their play in singles, the Lady Paladins registered a 5-2 team victory.
Samford's triumph in singles play occurred on court No. 5 as senior Lindsey Mallory outlasted Furman's Alex Moreno-Kaste, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (5). With the victory, Mallory notched her third-straight win and improved her singles record on the season to 9-4.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their five-match SoCon road trip against the Wofford Terriers in another key league contest to be held in Spartanburg, S.C.
