BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's tennis (5-4) defeated UNC Asheville (2-2) in a home-opening 6-1 triumph on Friday afternoon at Deer Valley Racquet Club.
The Mountaineers clinched the doubles point for the third straight contest before capturing five of six singles matches to earn the win. Appalachian matches last season's win total and captures back-to-back victories for the first time this campaign.
Melissa Machado and
Teodora Sevo got things started for the Black and Gold with a 6-1 triumph over Amalie Davidsen and Anastasia Horvat as the No. 3 in the lineup. Clinching the doubles tally for App was
Heidi Swope and
María José Zacarias, who downed Hannah Francisco/Kylee Shipley as the top tandem, 6-2. Teaming up for the first time this season was
Sandra Anglesjö/
Taylor Bygrave, and they didn't disappoint as they netted a 6-4 victory over Morgan Ingram and Emily Sidor for the clean sweep.
Appalachian's doubles play has been exceptional with a 15-8 record. Sevo and Machado are 7-2 this season with three straight victories, while Swope and Zacarias have won five matches in a row en route to a 5-2 mark thus far.
Appalachian wasted no time in singles play as it collected the first three singles matches to clinch the victory. Sevo continued her solid day in a straight-set, 6-3, 6-0 toppling against Francisco as the No. 2 in the lineup. At the No. 1 spot, Zacarias defeated her counterpart in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, to push Appalachian to a 3-0 lead. Bygrave registered a hard-earned win as she needed a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaking first set before a 6-2 win over Watson-Steele that sealed the deal for the Black and Gold.
Machado was the next to finish in a 6-3, 6-1, toppling over Taylor Love as the No. 6, which made Machado one of four Mountaineers (Bygrave, Sevo, Zacarias) with five singles wins this season. Swope fell in a 10-point tiebreak but fought back from a one-set deficit after falling in the first set to Sidor, 6-1. The junior claimed the second frame, 6-3, followed by the tiebreak where she only suffered the decision by two points, 10-8.
Concluding the day on a high note for App State was
Rebecca Morse. The junior also came back from an early deficit, 7-6 (7-4), against Davidsen, before forcing the 10-point tiebreak in the second stanza, 6-4. Morse won convincingly by six points for her second singles triumph of the season.
SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEMENT
Due to weather, Appalachian's match on Saturday against Western Carolina is postponed. No makeup date has been announced as of yet.
