Sumter, S.C.--The Lees-McRae women's tennis team (#6) upset
Anderson University (#3) 5-4 this morning in the Conference
Carolinas Championship Tournament in Sumter, S.C. With the win the
Lady Bobcats even their record at 10-10 (5-5 conference) and
advance to the second round through the winner's bracket. They
will face Limestone College (#2) at 9:00am Saturday morning.
In doubles action the Lady Trojans' duo of McDonald/Lawler
took an 8-5 win over Amanda Nascimento (Vitoria, Brazil)/Cameron
Joyce (Lenoir, N.C.) at No. 1, then gained another point when
Aheychenko/Goncalves defeated doubles team Ashley Mayers (Miami, FL)/Christine Vanard
(Winston-Salem, N.C.) by a score of 8-4. The Lady Bobcats then seized their
first point of the day when Andrea Balaszova (Prague, Czech
Republic)/Renee Roverson (Salisbury, N.C.) defeated Gorman/Beal
8-3.
Down 2-1
after doubles action, the Lady Bobcats rallied in singles. Balaszova defeated her Beal 6-3,
6-1 at the two slot, then Ashley Mayers (All-Conference Honorable
Mention) added another point to the Lady Bobcats' tally winning
6-1, 6-0 over McDonald at the three. Sophomore Joyce took a 6-2, 6-2 win
over Goncalves. The Lady
Trojans took wins at the four and six, with Lawler defeating
Nasicmento 6-3, 6-0 and Haddad winning 6-1, 6-1 over Katie Hawkins
(Old Fort, N.C.).
With the
score tied four-all the stage was set for a showdown between
Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year and All-Conference First
Team winner Christine Vanard and freshman Margarita Aheychenko,
also an All-Conference First Team award winner. Earlier in the year Aheychenko
defeated Vanard in a three set match at Anderson. This time, at a neutral site and with
the match on the line, it was Vanard who came out on top taking a
6-4, 7-6(4) win to advance her team through the winner's
bracket.
It was a
great match. I was very
proud of the way Christine played under pressure," commented Coach
Paul Goode. "Christine played her best match of the year in a tough
situation. She really came
through for us when we needed her most."
Pictured:
Christine Vanard
