Tulane University
College of Charleston
No. 57 Green Wave Dispatches College of Charleston, 5-2
Mar 6, 2012 | Women's Tennis
March 6, 2012
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane's 57th-ranked women's tennis team not only moved up two spots in the national rankings, but notched their 11th win of the season with a 5-2 victory over the College of Charleston today at the Goldring Tennis Center.
Tulane improved to 11-2 overall and is now 8-1 on its home courts this season. College of Charleston, meanwhile, fell to 4-4 on the year. TU completed a four-match home stand with a dominating performance in singles after suffering a close call in doubles. The Green Wave won the top four singles matches and claimed the all-important doubles point, but it didn't come easy.
TU's No. 2 combination of juniors Caroline Thornton and Caroline Magnusson put the Wave in the driver's seat with their 8-5 win over the College of Charleston's Jenny Falcone and Kelly Kambourelis.
However, the Cougars clawed their way back when their tandem of Christin Newman and Samantha Maddox outlasted Tulane's team of senior Lindsay Dvorak and junior Hila Elster, 9-7, at the No. 3 spot.
The fight for the doubles point came down to the top spot and the Wave's seasoned team of senior Mariam Kurdadze and junior Emma Levy grinded out a 9-8 win over CofC's Jamie Harrell and Irene Viana to claim the point and give the home team a quick 1-0 advantage. With the win, Kurdadze and Levy reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight season as the Wave's top doubles team.
The Cougars made things interesting early in singles action. Katie Lee downed Dvorak at the sixth spot, 6-2, 6-0, to tie the match at 1-1.
However, the Wave answered the challenge immediately by reeling off four straight wins to put the match away, beginning with Magnusson's, 6-0, 6-3, victory over Maddox at No. 4. The win for Magnusson was her 21st of the year, which are the most victories among Conference USA players this season.
Levy was the next to finish when she polished off Kambourelis, 6-2, 6-4, at the No. 2 slot and claimed her 20th singles win of the year, while Thornton clinched the victory for the Wave at the No. 3 position with a, 6-0, 6-3, win over Caroline Newman.
Kurdadze claimed the fifth and final point for Tulane with her 3-6, 6-1, 10-3 win over Christin Newman at the top spot. Sophmore Jenny Hois dropped a hard fought match at the No. 5 spot, 7-5, 5-7, 10-3, to Falcone.
"I think we did a lot of things right today, but most of all we came out and played with a lot of intensity and focus," Tulane head coach Terri Sisk said. "Those things seem to be the kiss of death for us sometimes, but when we come out and do both of things right we are a very dangerous team. College of Charleston is a great program. They have won the Southern Conference and been to the NCAA Tournament the last three years and I thought we did a really good job against a very good team."
"I knew this team could handle our home schedule, but I need to put us in the fire a little bit more and we will have that chance because the rest of March is quite challenging for us. But our team is battle-tested and I know they'll come through for us."
The Green Wave returns to C-USA action when it makes the short trip to Southern Miss to battle the Golden Eagles on Friday, March 10 at noon in Hattiesburg, Miss.
RESULTS
Doubles-
*No. 1 Mariam Kurdadze/Emma Levy (TU) def. Jamie Harrell/Irene Viana (CofC), 9-8
No. 2 Caroline Thornton/Caroline Magnusson (TU) def. Jenny Falcone/Kelly Kambourelis (CofC), 8-5
No. 3 Christin Newman/Samantha Maddox (CofC) def. Lindsay Dvorak/Hila Elster (TU), 9-7
*Clinched doubles point
Singles-
No. 1 Mariam Kurdadze (TU) def. Christin Newman (CofC), 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3)
No. 2 Emma Levy (TU) def. Kelly Kambourelis (CofC), 6-2, 6-4
**No. 3 Caroline Thornton (TU) def. Caroline Newman (CofC), 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 Caroline Magnusson (TU) def. Samantha Maddox (CofC), 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Jenny Falcone (CofC) def. Jenny Hois (TU), 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)
No. 6 Katie Lee (CofC) def. Lindsay Dvorak (TU), 6-2, 6-0
**Clinched match point
Players Mentioned
