Chattanooga, Tenn. – The Western Carolina women's tennis team finished the week of competition falling on the road 6-1 to the Chattanooga Mocs in Southern Conference play. Mariya Dobreva earned her first SoCon singles win, taking a top court victory 6-0, 6-3 over Addison Iacono.

WCU (2-14, 0-3 SoCon) has a week away from competition before returning to the courts in Cullowhee to host the Mercer Bears and the Wofford Terriers on April 2 and 3. Chattanooga (14-2, 3-0 SoCon) is tied for first in the conference standings and faces ETSU in a showdown between a pair of first-place squads on March 28.

How it Happened:

The short-handed Catamounts forfeit on the doubles third court, as well as in matches on the fifth and sixth singles courts, giving the Mocs an early advantage on the day.  Chattanooga then swept the doubles, earning the point with a 6-0 win on court two and finishing with a 6-4 top-seed victory as the Mocs had a 3-0 lead coupled with the two singles forfeits.

Mia Miranda retired from her match on the second court three games into her first set, with the Mocs clinching the victory.  

Mariya Dobreva rolled to a top court win, taking the 6-0, 6-3 decision over Iacono. The win stopped a four-match singles losing skid for the sophomore, who now has eight solo victories on the season.

Axelle Van Beurden and Kelly Coetzee both fell in their singles matches on courts three and four, respectively, as Chattanooga claimed the 6-1 win.

Up Next for The Catamounts:

WCU returns to action next week, hosting Mercer and Wofford for back-to-back SoCon matches on April 2 and 3 at the Catamount Athletics Complex. It then closes the regular season on April 7, visiting UNCG in Greensboro before heading to Chattanooga, Tenn., for the 2026 SoCon Women's Tennis Championship on April 16-18.