UNCG falls in battle of first-place teams
CHARLESTON, S.C. – UNCG took the early lead by claiming the doubles point, but College of Charleston answered by winning five of the six singles matches as the Spartans fell, 5-2, in a battle of previously undefeated teams in the conference on Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans started off with the early lead for the 14th time in 17 matches this season as they won the doubles point. College of Charleston (16-7, 8-0 Southern Conference) won the first doubles match as Jamie Harrell and Christin Newman came away with an 8-1 win at No. 3.
Stephanie Macfarlane and Alex Whitehead continued their impressive play at No. 1 as they came away with an 8-4 win at No. 1. In the decisive third match, Niltooli Wilkins and Lucy Dougherty improved their overall record to 15-2 with an 8-5 win at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for UNCG (12-5, 7-1 SoCon).
The Cougars seized control of the match in singles play as Caroline Newman (No. 3 singles), Kelly Kambourelis (No. 5) and Emma Hayman (No. 2) earned straight-set wins to give College of Charleston a 3-1 advantage.
Wilkins fought back for UNCG to pull it within 3-2 as she improved her singles record to 14-3 with her 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles.
Keely Mulligan earned a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 before Kinsey Casey earned a hard-fought 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (4) win at No. 4 to give the Cougars the 5-2 victory.
The Spartans will return to action on Wednesday as they travel to backyard-rival Elon for a 2:30 p.m. match.
AGATE
College of Charleston 5, UNCG 2
Doubles:
No. 1 - MacFarlane-Whitehead (UNCG) def. Hayman-Irene Viana (CofC), 8-4
No. 2 - Dougherty-Wilkins (UNCG) def. Casey-Katie Lee (CofC), 8-5
No. 3 - Jamie Harrell-Christin Newman (CofC) def. Rogers-Sutherland (UNCG), 8-1
Order of finish: (3,1,2*) *clinched doubles point
Singles:
No. 1 - Niltooli Wilkins (UNCG) def. Christin Newman (CofC), 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 - Emma Hayman (CofC) def. Alex Whitehead (UNCG), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 - Caroline Newman (CofC) def. Stephanie MacFarlane (UNCG), 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 - Kinsey Casey (CofC) def. Dilara Yurtkuran (UNCG), 6-3, 1-6, 1-0 (4)
No. 5 - Kelly Kambourelis (CofC) def. Lucy Dougherty (UNCG), 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 - Keely Mulligan (CofC) def. Mikayla Rogers (UNCG), 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: (3,5,2,1,6*,4) *clinched match
- UNCG -