ECU Women Split Tennis Doubleheader

March 26, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's tennis squad split a pair of matches Saturday, defeating North Carolina Central 5-2 in the nightcap at the ECU Indoor Facility after suffering a 5-2 Conference USA setback to UCF in the opener at the ECU Tennis Complex.

In their victory over the Eagles (7-9), the Lady Pirates swept the doubles action and used Jessica Cook and Yilian Zhang's 8-3 win over Cameron Chatman and Oleysa Palko in a No. 1 meeting as the point clincher.

East Carolina posted straight-set singles triumphs in the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 positions, logging a combined 48-7 score. Natalie Collins dismissed Cameron Chatman 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2 before Zhang and Manon Bissat each posted 6-0, 6-1 victories over Fredrica Lombard and Kelly Chaparro, and Abby Richmond cruised past Tatiana Velasquez by a 6-1, 6-0 margin.

In the morning tilt, UCF (7-6, 2-0) claimed all three doubles matches to notch the first point before taking four of six singles meetings. The Knights' Courtney Griffith turned in the clinching tally, using a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zhang at the No. 5 position to push UCF past a 3-1 edge and capture the match-winning point.

After the Knights built a 3-0 lead after two-set triumphs by Genevieve Lorbergs and Josephine Haraldson over Petra Vogel and Bissat at No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, Cook picked up the Lady Pirates' first point with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Alexis Rodriguez before Griffith's decider.

In addition to Cook's victory, Neena Wanko rallied past Jenna Doerfler 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 in a No. 4 battle that was completed after the Knights secured the team win.

In doubles action, Haraldson and Rodriguez' 8-3 defeat of Bissat and Wanko in a No. 2 meeting claimed UCF's initial tally.

East Carolina (15-6, 1-2), which has just four regular season matches remaining on its 2011 schedule, will return to action Tuesday when it travels to Richmond for a 2 p.m. meeting against the Spiders.

UCF 5, EAST CAROLINA 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Jessica Cook (ECU) def. Alexis Rodriguez (UCF) 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 - Jenny Frisell (UCF) def. Natalie Collins (ECU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0
No. 3 - Genevieve Lorbergs (UCF) def. Petra Vogel (ECU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 - Neena Wanko (ECU) def. Jenna Doerfler (UCF) 6-7, 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 - Courtney Griffith (UCF) def. Yilian Zhang (ECU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 - Josephine Haraldson (UCF) def. Manon Bissat (ECU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Griffith/Lorbergs (UCF) def. Collins/Vogel (ECU) 8-2
No. 2 - Haraldson/Rodriguez (UCF) def. Bissat/Wanko (ECU) 8-3
No. 3 - Taylor Dubins/Andrea Yacaman (UCF) def. Cook/Zhang (ECU) 8-6
Team Records: UCF 7-6, 2-0, East Carolina 14-6, 1-2

EAST CAROLINA 5, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Oleysa Palko (NCCU) def. Jessica Cook (ECU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - Natalie Collins (ECU) def. Cameron Chatman (NCCU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - Yilian Zhang (ECU) def. Fredrica Lombard (NCCU) 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Manon Bissat (ECU) def. Kelly Chaparro (NCCU) 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 - Abby Richmond (ECU) def. Tatiana Velasquez (NCCU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 - Maria Nedstrom (NCCU) def. Vanessa Fuleihan (ECU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Cook/Zhang (ECU) def. Chatman/Palko (NCCU) 8-3
No. 2 - Tamara Sachs/Neena Wanko (ECU) def. Lombard/Nedstrom (NCCU) 8-6
No. 3 - Kristin Gordon/Richmond (ECU) def. Chaparro/velasquez (NCCU) 8-2
Team Records: North Carolina Central 7-9, East Carolina 15-6

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