ECU Women Ace Charleston Southern 5-2

March 24, 2007

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Mireia Gol and Varinia Soler, who have raced out to a 5-0 mark as doubles partners this spring, recorded a pivotal 9-8 win at the No. 1 slot to help East Carolina to a 5-2 non-conference team victory over Charleston Southern Saturday morning at the CSU Tennis Courts.

The Lady Pirates, also winners of seven of their last nine matches, improved to 15-7 while the Buccaneers fell to 9-5.

Gol and Soler, a junior and sophomore who both hail from Spain, edged out Patricia Jaeger and Meryam Tazi to give ECU the doubles point and a 1-0 lead after No. 3 tandem Alex Smith and Brooke Walter posted an earlier 8-1 triumph over Ashley Heard and Amanda Swindall.

In singles play, the East Carolina took four matches in straight sets as Soler upended Lina Benkirane (6-1, 6-2) at No. 2, Gol cruised past Zineb Hilali (6-3, 6-2) at No. 3, Luiza Borges defeated Heard (6-2, 6-1) at No. 5 and Hannah Priest routed Swindall (6-0, 6-1) in a sixth-seeded matchup. Charleston Southern earned wins at the No. 1 and No. 4 positions as Tazi outlasted Anca Dumitru 7-5, 6-2 and Jaeger registered a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Walter.

The Lady Pirates will play their third straight match on the road when they travel to Richmond Tuesday for a 2:00 p.m. battle against the Spiders.

EAST CAROLINA 5, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Meryam Tazi (CSU) def. Anca Dumitru (ECU); 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 - Varinia Soler (ECU) def. Lina Benkirane (CSU); 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Mireia Gol (ECU) def. Zineb Hilali (CSU); 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 - Patricia Jaeger (CSU) def. Brooke Walter (ECU); 7-6, 6-1
No. 5 - Luiza Borges (ECU) def. Ashley Heard (CSU); 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 - Hannah Priest (ECU) def. Amanda Swindall (CSU); 6-0, 6-1
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Gol/Soler (ECU) def. Jaeger/Tazi (CSU); 9-8
No. 2 - Benkirane/Halali (CSU) def. Borges/Dumitru (ECU); 8-2
No. 3 - Alex Smith/Walter (ECU) def. Heard/Swindall (CSU); 8-1
Team Records: East Carolina 15-7, Charleston Southern 9-5

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