SUMTER , S.C. – Lees-McRae women's tennis earned the 4-2 victory over Belmont Abbey today in the semifinal round of the Conference Carolinas Women's Tennis Championship.
Anita Ivanova clinched the match for the Bobcats with a three-set thriller at No. 4 singles.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 1
Lees-McRae – 4; No. 4 Belmont Abbey – 2
LOCATION: Palmetto Tennis Center – Sumter, South Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (15-4/8-1), Belmont Abbey (20-11/7-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae and Belmont Abbey battled for the second time this season as the match went down to the wire at the Palmetto Tennis Center.
- During the doubles matches, the play was halted due to rain in the area and made for unplayable conditions on the courts. The Bobcats used the rain delay to their advantage.
- After the rain delay, Anita Ivanova and Pati Vedia Sanchez secured the win at No. 1 doubles, 6-2. Begum Gumussoy and Rhidaim Yang secured the point at No. 2 doubles with a 6-4 win.
- The Bobcats carried the momentum into singles play as Sanchez collected a 6-1, 6-1 decision at No. 1 singles. Yang recorded the third point for Lees-McRae with a 6-0, 6-2 win.
- Belmont Abbey made things interesting with a straight-set victory at No. 3 singles and three-set win at No. 5 singles. Lina Ngassi Saqout battled Alexis Burkhalter in a three-set thriller, but Burkhalter prevailed in the third-set tiebreak, 7-2.
- Ivanova and Belmont Abbey's Mackenzie McCarthy traded the first two sets of their match. Ivanova picked up a break at 6-5 and held off McCarthy in a decisive point for the 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 match victory.
- Gumussoy's match at No. 6 singles went unfinished in the third set with the final set tied at two games apiece.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae faces No. 2 seed Erskine tomorrow afternoon at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, South Carolina. The first serve with the Flying Fleet is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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