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BOONE, N.C. -- The Samford University women's tennis team will begin play in its highly-anticipated 2014 Southern Conference schedule Saturday at 12:30 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a key mid-season contest to be held indoors at the Yonahlossee Racquet Club.
Samford (5-1) heads into Saturday's SoCon opener with a full head of steam after earning a trio of home victories against UTSA, 6-1, Jacksonville State, 7-0, and UAB, 6-1. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a total of 32-7 this season and have not been defeated since Feb. 9, when they lost at No. 21-ranked Auburn, 4-0.
In its most recent outing, Samford extended its 2014 home winning streak to five-consecutive matches Wednesday as the Bulldogs earned a dominant 6-1 triumph against the UAB Blazers in a cross-town rivalry match held at the Samford Tennis Center.
The Bulldogs quickly tallied the first point of the outing in doubles play by registering 8-3 and 8-1 triumphs on courts No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Samford's combinations of
Stephanie N'tcha and
Jessica Northcutt, as well as
Yasmeen Ebada and
Emily Mallory both remained undefeated this year and improved to 2-0 in dual-match play.
In Wednesday's singles action, the Bulldogs' Ebada, Northcutt and Mallory all tallied quick straight-set victories to solidify Samford's overall team win at 4-0.
From that point on,
Kristin Lewis and N'tcha both tacked on three-set wins to ultimately record the Bulldogs' final 6-1 triumph. With her win on court No. 1, Lewis improved to 3-3 in dual-match play this season, while N'tcha upper her record on the year to a perfect 5-0.
Also remaining undefeated in singles play this season were Ebada and Mallory. Ebada moved to 5-0 when playing on court No. 3 in dual-match action, while Mallory improved to 4-0 on court No. 5.
Samford currently owns a dominant 27-6 record in singles play this season, as well as an equally stellar 13-3 mark in the doubles competition.
Appalachian State (3-5) enters Saturday's SoCon showdown with aspirations of bouncing back from a hard-fought 4-3 home loss to East Carolina on Friday. The Mountaineers' defeat snapped their two-match winning streak as they suffered their first home loss of the season.
In last year's annual matchup between Appalachian State and Samford, the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to the Mountaineers in an early-season contest held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Samford swept the doubles competition in 2013, but fell short in four of the six singles matches. The Mountaineers overcame a pair of first-set deficits in singles play to rally from behind for the 4-3 conference win.
In last season's contest, Appalachian State received three-set singles victories on courts No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5. The Mountaineers also picked up a straight-set win in the No. 1 singles contest.
Samford's singles triumphs occurred on courts No. 3 and No. 4.
Carita Moolman, the Bulldogs' talented native of Aranos, Namibia, tallied a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory in the No. 3 singles matchup, while
Adri Lochner staved off a second-set rally from the Mountaineers' Gabriela Celi on court No. 6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
The Bulldogs were victorious on all three doubles courts a year ago. Samford's tandem of Lewis and N'tcha cruised to an 8-1 victory on court No. 1, while Moolman and Lochner teamed up to post an 8-4 triumph in the No. 2 doubles contest.
The closest doubles match of the day occurred on court No. 3 where the Bulldogs' combination of
AnnMarie Lyon and Mallory rallied past Appalachian State's duo comprised of Brianna Armellino and Celi, 8-6.
In SoCon play last season, Samford finished the year with a 3-7 league record. Appalachian State concluded the 2013 campaign with a 6-4 mark.
The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs kick off SoCon play on the road against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a key league matchup to be held in Boone, N.C.
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