ROCK HILL, S.C. - It what came down to the final singles match
of the afternoon, the No. 5 Gardner-Webb women's tennis team earned
a 4-3 win over No. 4 Charleston Southern Thursday afternoon to
advance to the semifinals of the 2011 Big South Women's Tennis
Championship.
The win improves Gardner-Webb's record to 12-6 overall, while
Charleston Southern's season ends at 8-11.
Action began with doubles play, where the duo of Erica White and
Ronia Hutterli defeated Alia Nour and Brooke Pletcher (9-8) at the
No. 2 position, and Laura Kriett and Rita Gouveia downed Angelica
Torres and Heather Isbell (9-8) at the No. 3 position to give GWU
the early 1-0 advantage.
In singles action, Erica White downed Olga Makhova (6-2, 6-2) at
the No. 1 spot, and Rita Gouveia defeated Angelica Torres (2-6,
6-3, 6-2) at the No. 6 position, yet Charleston Southern picked up
wins at the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 positions to even the score at
3-3.
At the No. 5 position, the match between Ronia Hutterli and
Alexandra Walters went into a third set to decide the overall
outcome of the match, with Hutterli prevailing in the final set
(6-3, 3-6, 8-6) to give the Runnin' Bulldogs the overall win.
Thursday's win marks the first time that Gardner-Webb has
advanced to the Big South Women's Tennis Championship
semifinals.
With the win, No. 5 Gardner-Webb moves on to face No. 1 Winthrop
tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM.
RESULTS
Gardner Webb 4, Charleston Southern 3
DOUBLES
1. Olga Makhova/Marija Dzakovic (CSU) def. Ioana Oprea/Jenny
Lunde (GWU) 8-5
2. Erica White/Ronia Hutterli (GWU) def. Alia Nour/Brooke
Pletcher (CSU) 9-8
3. Laura Kriett/Rita Gouveia (GWU) def. Angelica Torres/Heather
Isbell (CSU) 9-8
SINGLES
1. Erica White (GWU) def. Olga Makhova (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Marija Dzakovic (CSU) def. Ioana Oprea (GWU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Brooke Pletcher (CSU) def. Laura Kriett (GWU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Alia Nour (CSU) def. Jenny Lunde (GWU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Ronia Hutterli (GWU) def. Alexandra Walters (CSU) 6-3, 3-6,
8-6
6. Rita Gouveia (GWU) def. Angelica Torres (CSU) 2-6, 6-3,
6-2
