CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina women's tennis team extended its winning streak to eight consecutive matches with a pair of wins on Saturday at the Stevens Tennis Complex, including a Sun Belt Conference win over Georgia Southern.
The Chanticleers moved to 8-4 on the season with a 4-3 win over Georgia Southern in the two teams' Sun Belt Conference opener and then swept SCAD 4-0 in the second match of the day.
Match 1: Coastal Carolina 4, Georgia Southern 3
The Chanticleers opened the Sun Belt Conference opener by winning the doubles point, as the two pairs of
Anna Babayan and
Megan Hopton and
Jesse Hollins and
Victoire De Samucewicz continued their winning streaks with dominating wins.
Babayan and Hopton extended their winning streak to seven consecutive matches with a 6-3 win over Liv Ryan and Silvia Martinez on court No. 1, while the duo of Hollins and De Samucewicz cruised to a 6-2 win over Lindsay Tulenko and Nanaka Kijima on court No. 3.
After Georgia Southern tied the match up at 1-1 with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court No. 1 in singles play, the Chants retook the lead with Hollins' 7-5, 6-1 win over Ninon Martinache on court No. 5 to put the score at 2-1.
The back-and-forth match continued with a straight-set win on court No. 6 by Georgia Southern to knot the match up at 2-2 before Hopton battled to a three-set 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Tulenko on court No. 3 to push the Chants back in front at 3-2.
Following an Eagles' win on court No. 4, the match came down to the No. 2 singles flight between Babayan and Ana Tsitavets. Babayan won the first set 6-4 but fell in the second set 7-6 (7-3) on a tiebreaker.
The third set belonged to Babayan, as the sophomore dominated with a 6-0 win to take the match 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 6-0 and propel the Chants to a 4-3 win.
Match 2: Coastal Carolina 4, SCAD 0
The Chanticleers again dominated in doubles play and then used a trio of straight-set wins in singles play to defeat SCAD 4-0 in the second match of the day.
SCAD entered the match ranked No. 3 in the latest NAIA Women's Tennis Coaches' Top 25 Poll (March 8).
The ranking did not deter the Chants, as the team of
Tatum Burger and
Lilie Steryous blanked their opponents Sofia Ragona and Lisa Konrad 6-0 on court No. 2 to start doubles play.
CCU's pair of Babayan and Hopton followed with a 6-1 win on court No. 1 to give the home team the doubles point before the team of De Samucewicz and
Isabella Weatherhead added a 6-3 win on court No. 3 for good measure.
The Chants continued to roll in singles play as Steryous conquered her opponent Caroline Lewis 6-0, 6-0 on court No. 5, while Weatherhead followed with a 6-0, 6-1 beatdown on court No. 6 to extend the lead to 3-0.
De Samucewicz capped the 4-0 match win with a 6-2, 6-0 defeat of Alessia Piccoliori on court No. 1.
When the match was decided, the Chants had leads on courts No. 2, 3, and 4.
Coastal will remain at home to host Rhode Island on Tuesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. ET.
Match 1: Coastal Carolina 4, Georgia Southern 3
Doubles
1.
Anna Babayan/
Megan Hopton (CCU) def. Liv Ryan/Silvia Martinez (GASO) – 6-3
2. Sonja Keranen/Ana Tsitavets (GASO) def.
Tatum Burger/
Lilie Steryous (CCU) – 6-3
3.
Jesse Hollins/
Victoire De Samucewicz (CCU) def. LindsayTulenko/Nanaka Kijima (GASO) – 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. Silvia Martinez (GASO) def.
Victoire De Samucewicz (CCU) – 6-3, 6-0
2.
Anna Babayan (CCU) def. Ana Tsitavets (GASO) – 6-4, 6-7 (7-3), 6-0
3.
Megan Hopton (CCU) def. Lindsay Tulenko (GASO) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
4. Nanaka Kijima (GASO) def
Tatum Burger (CCU) – 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
5.
Jesse Hollins (CCU) def. Ninon Martinache (GASO) – 7-5, 6-1
6. Paula Hijos (GASO) def.
Lilie Steryous (CCU) – 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 6, 3, 4, 5
Match 2: Coastal Carolina 4, SCAD 0
Doubles
1.
Anna Babayan/
Megan Hopton (CCU) def. Yue Yu/Alessia Piccoliori (SCAD) – 6-1
2.
Tatum Burger/
Lilie Steryous (CCU) def. Sofia Ragona/Lisa Konrad (SCAD) – 6-0
3.
Victoire De Samucewicz/
Isabella Weatherhead (CCU) def. Britain Botsford/F. Puig Llompart (SCAD) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1.
Victoire De Samucewicz (CCU) def. Alessia Piccoliori (SCAD) – 6-2, 6-0
2.
Anna Babayan (CCU) vs. Yue Yu (SCAD) – 6-3, unfinished
3.
Megan Hopton (CCU) vs. Sofia Ragona (SCAD) – 6-0, 2-3, unfinished
4.
Tatum Burger (CCU) vs. F. Puig Llompart (SCAD) – 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
5.
Lilie Steryous (CCU) def. Caroline Lewis (SCAD) – 6-0, 6-0
6.
Isabella Weatherhead (CCU) def. Britain Botsford (SCAD) – 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1
For complete coverage of Coastal Carolina Women's Tennis, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalWTennis (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUsports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
