ECU Tops Charleston Southern, 6-1

April 12, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina closed the regular season with a convincing 6-1 victory over Charleston Southern Tuesday afternoon at the ECU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Lady Pirates (17-8) used a doubles-play sweep and five singles victories, four in straight sets, to down the Buccaneers (8-9).

ECU's three victories in the doubles portion gave the hosts the opening point. Sophomore Petra Vogel and junior Natalie Collins teamed up in the No. 1 position to defeat Heather Isbell and Angie Torres 8-4. At the No. 2 slot, freshmen Neena Wanko and Manon Bissat downed the Buccaneer duo of Olga Makhova and Marija Dzakovic 8-3. Rounding out the doubles action was an 8-1 victory by senior Jessica Cook and sophomore Yilian Zhang over Alia Nour and Brooke Pletcher.

Cook, playing at No. 1 and in the final home match of her career, recorded the team's first singles victory of the day when Makhova retired trailing 4-3. Collins suffered ECU's lone setback of the match as Dzakovic won the No. 2 battle 6-3, 6-3.

Vogel took part in the only three-set singles decision, coming back for the win in the No. 3 spot after dropping the first set to Pletcher 3-6. Vogel recovered to claim 6-0 and 6-1 victories in the next two sets.

The Lady Pirates took the remaining three matchups in straight sets. Wanko topped Nour 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 4 slot while Zhang, at No. 5, downed Alexandra Walters 6-1, 6-0. Bissat completed the match with a 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Torres at No. 6.

East Carolina now starts preparation in earnest for the Conference USA Championships, which begin Thursday, April 21 in Orlando, Fla.

EAST CAROLINA 6, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 1
Singles Play
No. 1 - Jessica Cook (ECU) def. Olga Makhova (CSU) 4-3, Ret
No. 2 - Marija Dzakovic (CSU) def. Natalie Collins (ECU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 - Petra Vogel (ECU) def. Brooke Pletcher (CSU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Neena Wanko (ECU) def. Alia Nour (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 - Yilian Zhang (ECU) def. Alexandra Walters (CSU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 - Manon Bissat (ECU) def. Angie Torres (CSU) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Collins/Vogel (ECU) def. Heather Isbell/Torres (CSU) 8-4
No. 2 - Bissat/Wanko (ECU) def. Makhova/Dzakovic (CSU) 8-3
No. 3 - Cook/Zhang (ECU) def. Nour/Pletcher (CSU) 8-1
Team Records: Charleston Southern 8-9, East Carolina 17-8

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