Cullowhee, N.C. – Trailing 1-0 in the match after dropping the doubles point, Western Carolina women's tennis rallied impressively, stringing together six straight-set singles wins to claim its first Southern Conference win of the season, a 6-1 decision over the Samford Bulldogs at the Catamount Athletics Complex.
WCU's win is its third against Samford in program history with all three coming during head coach Bret Beaver's tenure. Additionally, the 6-1 victory is the largest margin of victory in series history, with the previous wins being 4-3 results in Cullowhee.
Samford (8-8, 1-1 SoCon) opened the day with wins on the third and second doubles court to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Andrea Redondo and Isabella Sambola battled on the second court, but ultimately fell 6-3 as the Bulldogs clinched the initial point. Jade Groen and Chloe Schwarz trailed 0-1 in their match on court one against Samford's Sara Erenda and Grace Keller but rattled off 3 consecutive games for a 3-1 advantage before taking the match 6-4.
Similarly in singles play, Groen opened the match trailing 1-0 to Margaret Jaraczewski in the first set before recording six unanswered games to take the first set. The Catamount junior opened the second with a win, but Jaraczewski responded, taking a 2-1 lead. Groen won the following five games to earn her 11th singles win of the season and the 40th of her career.
Angela Perez gave WCU (11-7, 1-1 SoCon) its first lead of the day with a 6-2, 6-1 win on court five, earning the 36th victory of her career with little issue. She was followed by second-seeded Isabella Sambola, who rallied from down 3-1 for a 6-4, 6-3 win. Sambola's victory was her second consecutive tally and third in her last four decisions as the junior looks to finish the season with momentum.
Chloe Schwarz sealed the match for the Catamounts just after Sambola earned her win, with WCU's No. 3 seed earning a hard-fought 6-4, 6-2 win over Meredith Taylor. Trailing 4-3in the first set, Schwarz took nine of the last 12 games to earn her eighth solo victory of the year and her first straight-set win since a 6-3, 6-4 decision against Gardner-Webb.
With the match in hand, Madison Schwarz and Hokualohi Lui earned wins on courts four and six respectively to finish the singles sweep. Schwarz trailed by as much as 5-3 in her second set but won the next four games to earn the 7-5 win and take her seventh solo win. Lui battled for a pair of 7-6 victories to win her match on court six, rallying from down 6-5 in set one and fending off the comeback attempt in set two for her eighth win of the season and her second singles win in SoCon play.
Up Next for The Catamounts:
Western Carolina finishes off a four-match home swing next weekend as it hosts both UNCG and Chattanooga on back-to-back days. The first serve with the Spartans is set for 2 p.m. on March 29, while play with the Mocs is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on March 30.
The Catamounts then travel to Macon, Ga., to take on the Mercer Bears on April 5, with an 11 a.m. start in SoCon play.
