April 10, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University women's tennis team will attempt to extend its winning streak to four-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs play host to the Troy Trojans in an in-state rivalry contest to be held at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Samford Tennis Center.

Samford (13-5) heads into the contest boasting consecutive Southern Conference road victories against Wofford 5-1, Davidson 6-1 and Appalachian State 4-3. The Bulldogs have been triumphant in four of their last five outings and have not been defeated at home since losing to Elon, 4-3, on March 18. Samford has only been beaten three times at home this season and owns a 9-3 record at the Samford Tennis Center.

In the Bulldogs' most recent outing at Appalachian State on Saturday, Samford earned a pivotal 4-3 SoCon victory against the Mountaineers in a critical late-season league matchup held at the ASU Tennis Courts.

With the triumph, Samford reeled off its third-straight conference road win and improved to 4-2 when playing away from home this season. Since losing a hard-fought 5-2 contest at Furman on March 24, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a total of 15-5.

In Saturday's key win over the Mountaineers, Samford garnered the all-important doubles point and then received three quick straight-set singles triumphs from Madelie Janse Van Rensburg, Stephanie N'tcha and Rebecca Kirven. The Bulldogs' three victories in singles play secured the team's win by reaching four overall points. Appalachian State later added a pair of singles victories to make the final score 4-3.

Kirven, Samford's senior from Windermere, Fla., picked up her third-consecutive singles win as she cruised past the Mountaineers' Jessica Thaggard, 6-4, 6-2, on court No. 4. With the triumph, Kirven improved her dual-match record on the season to 10-6.

The Bulldogs' Janse Van Rensburg, with her win on court No. 2, moved to 13-5 in singles play Saturday, while N'tcha defeated Appalachian State's Gabriela Celi, 6-3, 6-0, in the No. 3 contest to improve to 10-6 this year.

Troy (10-6) heads into Wednesday's in-state duel riding the positive momentum of a six-match winning streak. Since dropping a 5-1 decision at Charleston Southern on March 13, the Trojans have reeled off consecutive victories against Georgia Southern 6-1, Arkansas-Little Rock 6-1, Jacksonville State 5-2, UAB 5-2, Arkansas State 4-3 and Alabama State 7-0.

In its most recent outing Monday, Troy defeated Alabama State at home at the Lunsford Tennis Complex. The Trojans dropped just one game in the dominant effort as they picked their sixth-straight victory.

Troy started the day off quickly by sweeping all three doubles matches to grab a 1-0 lead over the Hornets. In singles play, the Trojans quickly grabbed the three points they needed to clinch the match.

At No. 3 singles, Olfa Dhaoui defeated Shameka Williams in straight-set fashion, 6-0, 6-0. Meanwhile, Karoline Grymel picked up her 10th victory in singles play this season as she took out Alabama State's Nathalie Lorenco 6-0, 6-0, at No. 1 singles.

Troy's Samya El Hsissen competed in the No. 5 singles position for the Trojans and defeated Lomax 6-0, 6-0, to clinch the victory. On court No. 2, Lyubov Dorofeeva defeated Mechelle Barton 6-0, 6-0. Troy's Candela Munoz Giron defeated Alabama State's Renita Rhone 6-0, 6-0 in the No. 4 spot, which helped lead to victory for the Trojans.

Following Wednesday's in-state showdown with Troy, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at noon (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out their 2012 regular-season schedule with a SoCon contest against the Chattanooga Lady Mocs to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.