April 7, 2012

Results

BOONE, N.C. - The Samford University women's tennis team continued its winning ways on the road Saturday as the Bulldogs earned a pivotal 4-3 Southern Conference victory against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a critical late-season league matchup held at the ASU Tennis Courts.

With Saturday's triumph, Samford (13-5, 5-4 SoCon) 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 rattled off consecutive SoCon road victories at Wofford 5-1, Davidson 6-1 and Appalachian State (11-9, 4-5 SoCon) 4-3.

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 Saturday 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.

The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a two-match, regular-season ending homestand against in-state rival Troy to be held in Birmingham, Ala., at the Samford Tennis Center.