MOUNT OLIVE (March 22) – Playing back-to-back matches at home versus nationally-ranked opponents, the University of Mount Olive women's tennis program dropped a 5-2 decision versus No. 28 ranked Erskine in a heated Conference Carolinas matchup on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 3-6 this season with a 2-1 record in conference play. The two sides met for the 15th time since 2013 with Erskine improving their head-to-head record to 9-6 against Mount Olive. Meanwhile, the Flying Fleet move to 9-3 overall with a perfect 4-0 record in league action.
The doubles started with a heated discussion with the Flying Fleet receiving a point penalty due to Erskine players arriving late on the court. Therefore, the Trojans started with one game up in each double. However, Erskine collected two out of three possible victories to register the doubles point. In the first slot, freshman
Nina Bernier and sophomore
Simone Szovan fell by a close 6-7 (3-7) margin while facing Ariana Jativa and Teodora Stefanovic. The Trojans rebounded with a win from the sophomore duo of
Lara Stamereilers and
Victoria Calle by a score of 6-2 over Rupal Kharb and Angelina Jacobs in the second position. Junior
Alina Esser and senior
Sandra Riecken suffered a 2-6 loss in the third doubles against Hanna Vasconez and Czarina Aguirre.
The Flying Fleet secured the win during the singles session after winning four of six matches. In first singles, Stamereilers collected an impressive 6-3, 6-4 victory over Vasconez before freshman
Claudia Cerdan fell with a 2-6, 3-6 margin against Jativa in the second position. In the third slot, Szovan suffered a 1-6, 3-6 loss to Stefanovic while Calle dropped a 1-6, 4-6 decision versus Kharb in the fourth singles. In the fifth position, Bernier won the second point for the Trojans with a close 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-5) victory versus Jacobs before freshman
Julie Jagiella fell by a score of 2-6, 4-6 against Aguirre.
The Trojans return to court for non-conference action on Tuesday, March 25, when they travel to face Virginia State at 2 p.m. in Petersburg, Virginia.
