Gardner-Webb Rallies for Wild 5-4 Win at Erskine on Monday
February 04, 2014 | Women's Tennis
Due West, S.C. - No. 2 singles player Jenny Lunde won in the deciding match and was one of four Gardner-Webb players to earn singles wins on Monday to give the Runnin' Bulldogs a 5-4 comeback win at Erskine College in women's tennis action.
GWU (2-0) fell into an early 2-1 hole after doubles play, seeing Erskine win at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. No. 1 duo Corin Hallman and Mika Goyette of Erskine teamed up to outlast the Runnin' Bulldogs' Yasmin Doost and Ronia Hutterli pairing, 8-4, and the Flying Fleet got an 8-6 win from Miranda Guthrie and Sarah McDonald, as they outlasted Lunde and Teodora Stanciu at No. 2 doubles.
Freshmen Catherine White (Rock Hill, S.C.) and Mary Walker Mixon (Atlanta, Ga.) cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 3 doubles to help GWU stay within a point.
Entering singles play, Gardner-Webb needed to win at four of the six positions to come away with the victory. At No. 3, Hutterli (Duebendorf, Switzerland) earned a 6-2, 6-2 win. Rokia Sacko (Montreal, Canada) stepped in for a key win at No. 5 by a 6-1, 6-0 margin to help kickstart the comeback.
Erskine picked up wins at No.'s 1 and 6 singles to push GWU to the brink, winning tight matches from Hallman and Mollie Polk, respectively. Hallman edged Yasmin Doost 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 at No. 1 singles, and Polk rallied to knock off White by a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.
Sophomore Valeriia Popko (St. Petersburg, Russia) won a key match at the No. 4 spot, holding off McDonald to prevail in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
The match came down to the No. 2 duel between Lunde and Guthrie, with the GWU senior coming out on top by taking a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 decision to finish off the dramatic Runnin' Bulldog win.
Gardner-Webb stays on the road to face Charlotte at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 6.
Results:
Doubles -
No. 1 Hallman/Goyette (EC) def. Doost/Hutterli (GWU) 8-4
No. 2 Guthrie/McDonald (EC) def. Lunde/Stanciu (GWU) 8-6
No. 3 White/Walker Mixon (GWU) def. Whatley/Elliott (EC) 8-0
Singles -
No. 1 Hallman (EC) def. Doost (GWU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
No. 2 Lunde (GWU) def. Guthrie (EC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3 Hutterli (GWU) def. Goyette (EC) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Popko (GWU) def. McDonald (EC) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 Sacko (GWU) def. Whatley (EC) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 Polk (EC) def. White (GWU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
