MOUNT OLIVE (March 20) – Facing a nationally-ranked opponent, the Trojans fell by a 6-1 decision against No. 9 Catawba on Thursday afternoon at the John Neal Walker Tennis Center in non-conference play.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive women's tennis program drops to 3-5 this season. The two sides met for the ninth time with the Catawba Indians holding a 6-3 edge in the series dating back to 2013. Meanwhile, Catawba improves to a perfect 11-0 overall record with a 4-0 mark against Conference Carolinas opponents.
Catawba collected the opening point during the doubles session after winning two out of three matches. Sophomore
Simone Szovan and freshman
Nina Bernier won by a 6-4 margin versus Ami Miya and Lilliana Drukerova in the first position. In the second slot, the sophomore duo
Victoria Calle and
Lara Stamereilers were dealt a 4-6 loss against Sofia Antolini and Rin Igarashi. Junior
Alina Esser and senior
Sandra Riecken suffered a 4-6 defeat in the third doubles versus Anna Wise and Nika Dundovic.
In singles play, Catawba claimed the 6-1 victory in the match after winning five of six matches. In the first position, Stamereilers fell by a 2-6, 2-6 margin against nationally ranked No. 30 Antolini. Freshman
Claudia Cerdan dealt with a tough 0-6, 0-6 defeat in the second singles against Wise while Szovan was defeated 5-7, 4-6 in the third slot versus Miya. In the fourth singles, Calle captured the lone victory by a score of 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 margin versus Vaishnavi Venkatesh before Bernier suffered a 4-6, 6-7 (1-7) loss by Igarashi. In the final singles match, freshman
Julie Jagiella dropped a 4-6, 0-6, 0-1 decision to Tina Gomes.
Mount Olive returns for its third conference match on Saturday, March 22, when it welcomes Erskine at the John Neal Walker Tennis Center, starting at 11 a.m.
