April 5, 2012

DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Samford University women's tennis team will face its fourth-consecutive road test Friday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Davidson Wildcats in a pivotal Southern Conference showdown to be held at the Covington Tennis Courts.

Samford (11-5, 3-4 SoCon) heads into Friday's contest having been victorious in two of its most recent three conference road outings. On March 22, the Bulldogs blanked Western Carolina 7-0 in Cullowhee, before dropping a 5-2 decision at Furman on March 24.

In Samford's most recent outing, the Bulldogs knocked off the Wofford Terriers, 5-1, in a weather-altered contest held at The Westside Club in Spartanburg, S.C.

Samford swept the doubles competition against Wofford and then received quick straight-set singles victories from Kristin Lewis, Rebecca Kirven, Lindsey Mallory and Emily Mallory.

In the No. 2 singles contest, the Bulldogs' Lewis rolled to a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Wofford's Julia Paulson, while Samford's Kirven notched a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the Terriers' Othilia Lindqvist in the No. 4 contest. On courts Nos. 5 and 6, the Bulldogs' Lindsey and Emily Mallory registered respective wins against Wofford's Emily Przystawski, 6-0, 6-1, and Samantha Sullivan, 6-1, 7-6(4).

Samford's Lindsey Mallory extended her team-best winning streak to four-consecutive matches and improved her singles record to 10-4 this season. Emily Mallory, while competing at the No. 6 singles position this year, moved her record to 7-2.

Davidson (4-15, 1-5 SoCon) recently got back on the winning track Wednesday as it rolled to a 6-1 SoCon win over Western Carolina at Covington Tennis Courts. The triumph was the Wildcats' first victory since Feb. 17.

Davidson got the match going with strong play in doubles, sweeping all three spots. The No. 1 team of Brites Moniz-Soares and Stephani Synn cruised to an 8-2 victory, their first as a pair. Also scoring their first win as a duo was Katharine Dicconson and Nisha Crouser, scoring an 8-4 win at No. 2.

The Wildcats' Frizzi Bschorer and Elise Held wrapped up the doubles point with a 8-0 blanking of Sarah Walters and Taylor Casey at No. 3.

Davidson's Moniz-Soares, Dicconson, Crouser and Held all earned singles wins, while Catherine Wood sealed up the team victory. Moniz-Soares scored a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 triumph at No. 2 to improve to 11-5 on the year. She's 4-2 in league play.

Crouser netted a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4 for her sixth victory of the season. Held and Wood had their best singles matches of the year, scoring a pair of 6-0, 6-0 decisions at No. 5 and 6. The two Wildcats earned their second and fourth wins on the season, respectively.

The Wildcats' Dicconson scored her first SoCon triumph of the season when she won a super tiebreaker after the team match had been decided. She netted a 10-7 win as the tiebreaker was forced after Karen Jimeniz won the second set, 7-5. The senior Dicconson opened the match strong with a 6-2 triumph in the first set.

In last season's annual meeting between Samford and Davidson, the Bulldogs cruised to a 7-0 victory at home in the Samford Tennis Center.

Following Friday's contest at Davidson, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 10 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their five-match SoCon road trip in Boone, N.C., against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The matchup will be held at the ASU Tennis Courts.