LYNCHBURG, Va. - Facing a tough Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opponent on the road, the Guilford College women's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision to Randolph College on Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers (3-2, 1-1 ODAC) battled but were unable to overcome a strong showing from the WildCats (2-1, 1-0 ODAC), who swept doubles play and won five of six single matchups to secure the conference victory.
Randolph set the tone early taking all three doubles contests. In the top-seeded match, the pairing of
Ashley Belnap (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and
Erika Mendez (Asheville, N.C.) put up a fight but fell short in a 6-4 loss to Lena Kersten and Lize van Veen. On court two,
Jolie Nhouyvanisvong (Greensboro, N.C.) and
Chandler Sizemore (Sandy Ridge, N.C.) dropped a 6-3 decision to Fleur Gaalman and Emma Bauer, while
Amy Soto Salgado (Conover, N.C.) and
LaNyia Ward (Pittsburgh, Pa.) struggled against Sabrina Dickerson and Gianna Cabrera, falling 6-1 at No. 3 doubles.
Trailing 1-0 heading into singles, Guilford looked to turn momentum but faced stiff resistance from the Wildcats. At No. 1 singles, Belnap was overpowered by Kersten in a 6-0, 6-0 loss. Nhouyvanisvong also ran into trouble in the third flight, dropping a 6-0, 6-0 decision to Gaalman. Sizemore and Soto Salgado each fell in straight sets, with Sizemore losing 6-1, 6-1 to Bauer at #4 and Soto Solgado suffering a 6-0, 6-2 setback against Dickerson at No.5. One of the most competitive matches of the day came at #6 singles, where
Bethany Lupo (Tabor City, N.C.) fought hard before ultimately falling to Maddie Mills, 6-2,6-3.
Guilford's lone victory of the match came at No. 2 singles, where Mendez secured a dramatic three-set triumph. She edged van Veen in a back-and-forth battle, taking the first set 7-5 before dropping the second 6-2. In the tiebreaker, Mendez dug deep to claim a 12-10 victory, salvaging a point for the Quakers.
The women's tennis team will have little time to dwell on the loss as they return home to face Methodist University in less than 24 hours, with first serve set for 2 P.M.
#GoQuakes
