The Stetson women's tennis team (2-0) started strong and
didn't look back, defeating Charleston Southern (1-1) by a score of 5-2 on
Saturday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. The Hatters picked up the
first five points of the match to secure the victory.
"We defeated a very good team today," Director of Tennis
Pierre Pilote said of Charleston Southern. "They came back strong in singles,
but we were able to counter their effort to change the momentum of the match."
The Hatters opened competition by sweeping the doubles matches,
taking a 1-0 lead. Junior Lindsey Cable (Gainesville, Fla.) and freshman
Eveline Lepinay (Quebec City, Quebec) got it started by defeating Chanel Bell
and Alexandra Walters 8-2.
Freshman Andrea Crespo (Valencia, Spain) and Junior Diana
Bukajeva (Riga, Latvia) then did their job, defeating Alia Nour and Angelica
Sidorenko 8-2 to secure the point for Stetson.
Seniors Sara Lazarevic (Calgary, Alta) and Jen Miller
(Tampa, Fla.) finished the sweep with an 8-4 victory over Marketa Placha and
Susita Das.
"Our doubles pairs played at an excellent level today,"
Pilote said after the victory.
Cable got the Hatters off to a fast start in singles play,
defeating Bell 6-2, 6-2. Bukajeva followed Cable with a victory of her own,
defeating Nour 6-3, 6-3. Miller clinched the match for Stetson, winning 6-2,
6-4 over Das.
"We started well in doubles and we were really pumped,"
Miller said "We were able to take that into singles, play really well, and stay
focused and determined."
Crespo picked up a victory from the number one singles
position, defeating Sidorenko 6-4, 7-5. Lazarevic was defeated by Placha,
falling 6-3, 6-3, while senior Clarke Tatje (Eustis, Fla.) was the final Hatter
to finish, dropping a 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (6) match to Walters.
Stetson is back in action on Friday, Feb. 15 when the team
plays host to Iowa State. The match is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Mandy
Stoll Tennis Center.
"Now we will practice diligently in preparation for a very
good Iowa State team," Pilote said.
Match Notes: The Hatters have started the season 2-0 the
last three seasons ... Stetson defeated Charleston Southern in its last meeting,
winning 6-1 on Feb 12, 2011 in Troy, Ala. ... Charleston Southern was picked to
finish second in the 2013 Big South Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.
