East Carolina University
Appalachian State
Appalachian State Rallies Past East Carolina, 5-2
February 25, 2012 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2012
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State rebounded from a doubles setback by claiming five of six singles matches to hand East Carolina a 5-2 non-conference defeat in women's tennis action Saturday afternoon at the Yonahlossee Racquet Club.
East Carolina (4-8) jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage by capturing the doubles point. After the Lady Pirates' Renata Bakieva and Natalie Collins opened with an 8-2 victory over Blakeley Bean and Gabby Gabriel at the No. 3 position, the Mountaineers' tandem of Gabriela Celi and Gisela Fernandez followed with an 8-4 win over Dana Gray and Neena Wanko at No. 2 to even pairs play. At the No. 1 slot, Danielle Terpko and Yilian Zhang erased a 7-5 deficit with four straight points to outlast Jennifer Ansari and Ellie Linsell and clinch the opening tally.
In singles play, Appalachian State (4-3) claimed the first four matches to seal the team triumph as Jessica Thaggard (No. 4) cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Terpko, Gabriel (No. 6) downed Abby Richmond 6-0, 6-3, Ansari (No. 2) handled Bakieva 6-4, 6-2 and Celi (No. 3) dismissed Zhang 7-5, 7-5.
Collins enjoyed the Lady Pirates' only singles success, fighting past Linsell 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 in a No. 1 battle before Kim-Lea Dinh produced the Mountaineers' fifth and final point with a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) decision against Gray in a No. 5 meeting.
The Lady Pirates will take a week off before embarking on a three-match spring break trip to Puerto Rico. ECU will face PR-Rio Piedras (Monday, March 5) and PR-Mayaguez (March 6) before closing action on the island with a neutral site matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels on March 8.
APPALACHIAN STATE 5, EAST CAROLINA 2
Singles Play
No. 1 - Natalie Collins (ECU) def. Ellie Linsell (ASU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
No. 2 - Jennifer Ansari (ASU) def. Renata Bakieva (ECU) 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 - Gabriela Celi (ASU) def. Yilian Zhang (ECU) 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 - Jessica Thaggard (ASU) def. Danielle Terpko (ECU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 - Kim-Lea Dinh (ASU) def. Dana Gray (ECU) 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7)
No. 6 - Gabby Gabriel (ASU) def. Abby Richmond (ECU) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles Play
No. 1 - Terpko/Zhang (ECU) def. Ansari/Linsell (ASU) 9-7
No. 2 - Celi/Gisela Fernandez (ASU) def. Gray/Neena Wanko (ECU) 8-4
No. 3 - Bakieva/Collins (ECU) def. Blakeley Bean/Gabriel (ASU) 8-2
Team Records: East Carolina 4-8, Appalachian State 4-3
Players Mentioned
