Cullowhee, N.C. – In a matchup of two of the top four teams in the Southern Conference standings, Western Carolina women's tennis took the doubles point and a victory on the top court in singles play to lead early but was ultimately downed by visiting East Tennessee State 4-3 on a sun-splashed Tuesday afternoon in the home finale at the Catamount Athletics Complex.
ETSU (12-7, 6-0 SoCon) moved percentage points in front of idle Furman (5-0 SoCon) in the conference race with Tuesday's victory on ESPN+. The Paladins face Wofford (4-1 SoCon) on Wednesday before the top four teams meet this weekend with WCU (14-8, 4-2 SoCon) visiting the Terriers and Bucs traveling to Furman.
Western Carolina won two of the three doubles matches, claiming victory on courts No. 2 and No. 3. Jade Groen and Isabella Sambola earned wins in singles play on the top two courts. However, ETSU swept courts No. 3 through 6, including court No. 4 by way of an injury retirement to earn their sixth conference win.
The tandem of Sambola and Andrea Redondo opened the day for the Catamounts, cruising to a 6-2 win on court two in doubles play. The third seed pairing of Angela Perez and Madison Schwarz clinched the early point for the home squad, matching with a 6-2 win with the Bucs winning at No. 1. The Catamounts have now claimed the doubles point in three consecutive matches and 13 times this season.
On a day when she collected her third SoCon Women's Tennis Player of the Week honor, Groen continued her dominating run through singles play, doing so against ETSU's Daniela Rivera as the top seed. The heavyweight bout initially went in Rivera's direction as the Buccaneer senior took the first game. But Groen rallied, stringing together eight consecutive games en route to a 6-1, 6-2 straight-set victory.
With her win over Rivera, Groen is the last remaining undefeated No. 1 seed in the SoCon and is 15-2 in solo play this season.
After falling in a tight 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker first set, Sambola battled back with a tough 6-4 second set win to even her match on the second court. The New Orleans, La., product then rolled in her third set, taking a 5-1 advantage before cashing in a 6-3 win for her fifth SoCon victory. The three-set win is the 10th of the season for Sambola, which sets her new career high in single-season victories.
Third-seeded Chloe Schwarz battled valiantly for the Catamounts as well, falling 7-5 in the first set after tweaking an ankle. The Adelaide, Australia native bounced back with a 7-5 set two win of her own to force the third set. With her match going nearly two and a half hours, she was unable to finish off the rally in the third set as ETSU's Jana Rovira scoring the match-clinching point.
Up Next for The Catamounts
WCU closes the regular season with a trip to Spartanburg, S.C. on Saturday (April 12) as the Catamounts face the Wofford Terriers. The first serve for the regular-season finale is set for 2 p.m.
Seedings for next week's Southern Conference Women's Tennis Championship will be finalized on Saturday. The Catamounts then trek to Chattanooga, Tenn. for three days of competition April 17-19 at the Chattanooga Champions Club.
