Boiling Springs, N.C. – On Senior Day at the Webb Tennis Center Sunday afternoon (4/14), the Gardner-Webb women's tennis team lost a hard-fought Big South Conference match, 5-2, against visiting Charleston Southern.
The Runnin' Bulldogs, who had won 4 of their last 6 matches entering play, fell to 6-9 overall on the season (3-2 in Big South).
Charleston Southern improves to 11-6 overall (4-1 Big South).
Starting the afternoon in the double's competition, Charleston Southern won the first match on Court No.3 as Gardner-Webb's duo of graduate senior
Courtney Fyvie (Durbam, South Africa) and freshman
Alizée Poulin (Beauceville, Quebec, Canada) lost 4-6 to Noa Boyd and Amilia Jusufbegovic.
The Dawgs No.2 doubles team of senior
Katie Watts (Haslet, Texas) and freshman
Milica Prokic (Belgrade, Serbia) defeated the Buccaneers duo of Jessica Braun and Khyanna Singh to even things up.
The doubles deciding point came on Court No.1. where the Runnin' Bulldogs No.1 tandem of junior
Emilia Roslund (Lund, Sweden) and sophomore
Emma Shasteen (Floda, Sweeden) fell (6-7) in a tiebreaker to Marina Skegro and Kassandra Di Staulo.
Gardner-Webb trailed 1-0 heading into the singles competition where the hosts battled the three-time defending conference champions in a match that took 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete. The Runnin' Bulldogs picked up victories on courts five and two before the Buccaneers rolled off four-straight wins on courts six, one, three and four to secure the match.
Roslund prevailed on Court No. 2 with a victory over Jusufbegovic, 6-4, 6-1 while Fyvie (6-2, 6-2) defeated Singh at singles No.5.
Gardner-Webb continued to battle, however, the Dawgs lost three singles matches in three sets.
Poulin lost in three sets (6-3, 5-7, 1-6) to Boyd on Court No.3. while Prokic lost a three-set decision (4-6, 6-2, 1-6) to Di Staulo on court No.6.
Watts also fell in three sets at No.4 singles (1-6, 6-3, 5-7) to Skegro.
Shasteen lost her match for the Runnin' Bulldogs with a 6-7, 3-6 loss to Braun at No,1 singles.
"I'm very proud of the way my girls competed today," said Gardner-Webb women's tennis coach
Jim Corn. "It was a good college tennis match that lasted three hours and 15 minutes. We really battled."
Up Next— The Runnin' Bulldogs close out the regular season with a home match on Monday (4/15) vs Davidson. The Dawgs will then compete in the Big South Conference Tennis Tournament on Friday (4/19) at the Marion Diehl Tennis Center in Charlotte, N.C. The Big South's Tournament champion receives an automatic big to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship.
