Greensboro, N.C. -- The Western Carolina (8-9, 0-3 SoCon) women's tennis team suffered a setback in Southern Conference play on the road Saturday as the UNCG Spartans (3-12, 1-2 SoCon) defended their courts with a 4-3 win.
The Catamounts started the day off strong with convincing doubles victories on courts one and two to pick up their first doubles point since sweeping the duo courts against Gardner-Webb. The pairings of Isabella Sambola and Angela Perez on court one and Jade Groen and Madison Schwarz on court two recorded strong 6-2 victories to give the Catamounts an early 1-0 lead. On court three, Andrea Redondo and Dasha Osadova put forth a valiant effort to attempt a doubles sweep, but ultimately fell in a hard-fought 7-6 set.
The Catamounts continued to build upon their lead in the singles matches as Jade Groen picked up her team-leading ninth straight-set victory of the season on the second court against UNCG's Alexandra Dodashev with 6-2 and 6-3 scores. The Spartans cut the Catamount lead to one after a win on court three, but the Purple and Gold responded as Isabella Sambola picked up a straight-set victory of her own on court one. The home team then picked up two wins on the fourth and sixth courts to even the match at three all, leaving Andrea Redondo and UNCG's Lauren Thomson to break the draw in a three-set match.
Redondo took the first set, but the home team claimed the final two in close 7-5, 6-4 decisions as UNCG took the victory.
Western Carolina takes a quick break from the conference schedule as they host mountain-rival UNC Asheville on Tuesday (Mar. 19) with action set to begin at 2:00 p.m. The next SoCon foe on the slate is Furman as the Paladins make the trip to Cullowhee for a Sunday afternoon bout. First serve for the conference matchup is set for 1:00 p.m. on March 24.
Doubles Results
1 Angela Perez and Isabella Sambola (WCU) def. Sydney Bly and Alexandra Dodashev (UNCG) 6-2
2 Jade Groen and Madison Schwarz (WCU) def. Juliana Craft and Lauren Thomson (UNCG) 6-2
3 Olivia Gallagher and Raegan Mitchell (UNCG) def. Dasha Osadova and Andrea Redondo (WCU) 7-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles Results
No. 1 -- Isabella Sambola (WCU) def. Arina Babkova (UNCG) 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 -- Jade Groen (WCU) def. Alexandra Dodashev (UNCG) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Olivia Gallagher (UNCG) def. Angela Perez (WCU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- Juliana Craft (UNCG) def. Madison Schwarz (WCU) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 5 -- Lauren Thomson (UNCG) def. Andrea Redondo (WCU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 -- Sydney Bly (UNCG) def. Dasha Osadova (WCU) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
Order of Finish:
2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5
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.
