Sunday, April 2, 2006
NO. 31
BLUE HOSE DOWN NO. 38 TUSCULUM 5-4
IN WOMEN’S TENNIS ACTION
Lady Blue Hose clinch a share of the 2006 South Atlantic
Conference regular season championship
CLINTON, S.C. — Presbyterian College fought back from a 2-1 deficit after doubles to defeat Tusculum College 5-4 in South Atlantic Conference women’s tennis action Sunday afternoon at the Templeton Courts. With the victory, the No. 31-ranked Lady Blue Hose (12-3 overall, 6-0 SAC) clinch a share of the 2006 SAC regular season crown while the No. 38-ranked Pioneers fall to 11-6 overall, 4-1 in the league.
PC, the defending regular season champion, clinches a share of their second straight and fifth overall regular season crown since the SAC started recognizing a in-season champion in 2000.
Tusculum took control of the match early with a pair of wins in doubles to pull ahead 2-1. Seniors Claudia Bolivar (Armenia, Columbia) and Maria Nevarez (Guayaquil, Ecuador) knocked off PC’s duo of junior Catherine Bankhead (Amarillo, Tex.) and freshman Abby Diminich (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 9-8 (5) at the No. 1 flight, while junior Danae Valderrama (Orlando, Fla.) and freshman Jennifer Sparks (Missouri City, Tex.) defeated PC’s junior Lauren Brown (Gaffney, S.C.) and sophomore Kari Fuller (Suwanee, Ga.) 8-3 at the No. 3 flight.
The Lady Blue Hose picked up one point at No. 2 doubles as junior Lisa Moyer (Florence, S.C.) and sophomore Brittany Lanford (Florence, S.C.) defeated sophomore Bronwyn Hartley (Beamsville, Canada) and freshman Amanda Pike (Elizabethton, Tenn.) 8-2.
PC took their first lead as Bankhead won a three-set victory over Bolivar 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the top flight, followed by Brown’s three-set victory (3-6, 6-4, 6-1) victory over Valderrama at No. 2. Nevarez evened the match at 3-3 with a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Diminich. Landford gave the Lady Blue Hose the lead for good with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Pike, while PC’s Moyer clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Hartley. In the final match of the day, TC’s Sparks defeated Fuller 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles.
Presbyterian returns to action on Tuesday, April 4 when they host No. 23 Erskine College at 3:00 pm. Tusculum returns to action on Friday, April 7 by hosting North Greenville College at 4:00 pm.