Johnson City, Tenn. – Western Carolina women's tennis dropped its 2024 Southern Conference opener on Sunday afternoon, falling at mountain-rival East Tennessee State 7-0 at the on-campus Dave Mullins Tennis Complex.
The Catamounts made several changes to their doubles pairings in the conference opener as Madison Schwarz and Jade Groen shared the court for the first time this season. Dasha Osadova and Angela Redondo were also paired together for the first time. Both the pairing of Angela Perez and Isabella Sambola at No. 1 and the No. 2 duo of Schwarz an Groen were downed 6-4, while Osadova and Rendondo fell 6-2 as the Bucs claimed the doubles point.
Western Carolina (8-5, 0-1 SoCon) was unable to recapture momentum on the singles courts, falling in straight sets on each court. Jade Groen, though, nearly came away with the set two victory in the No. 2 two spot after her brief return to the top court Friday against Kennesaw State. After falling in the first set 6-3, the sophomore from the Netherlands pushed ETSU's Fernanda Carvajal before dropping the second set 7-5.
Among the most competitive of matches on Sunday, Madison Schwarz fell 6-4 and 6-3 to ETSU's Jana Rovira at No. 4, with Dasha Osadova posting scores in reverse with a 6-3 and 6-4 defeat at No. 6 to the Bucs' Ralitsa Alexandrova.
Western Carolina looks to take advantage of a brief reprieve before making the trek to Boone, N.C., to take on rival Appalachian State next Saturday, March 2, in nonconference action. WCU will face a pair of Black & Gold clad squads with App and Wake Forest (March 10) before returning to the court in league play against Mercer in Cullowhee on March 13.
For the latest information on Catamount women's tennis, follow @catamounts or @catamountTennis on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com. In-match updates are on the Catamount women's tennis official tennis Twitter page.
Doubles
1. Fernanda Carvajal & Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Angela Perez & Isabella Sambola (WCU) - 6-4
2. Sofia Markova & Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) def. Madison Schwarz & Jade Groen (WCU) - 6-4
3. Jana Rovira & Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Dasha Osadova & Angela Rendondo (WCU) - 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1. Sofia Markova (ETSU) def. Isabella Sambola (WCU) - 6-1, 6-2
2. Fernanda Carvajal (ETSU) def. Jade Groen (WCU) - 6-3, 7-5
3. Daniela Rivera (ETSU) def. Angela Perez (WCU) - 6-1, 6-0
4. Jana Rovira (ETSU) def. Madison Schwarz (WCU) - 6-4, 6-3
5. Alessandra Caceres (ETSU) def. Angela Rendondo (WCU) - 6-1, 6-2
6. Ralitsa Alexandrova (ETSU) def. Dasha Osadova (WCU) - 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 1, 4, 6, 2
