Colorado College dropped an 8-1 decision to Rhodes College in its first match at the 2010 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships early Friday morning at the Burns park Tennis Complex.
“I certainly cannot fault our girls for not trying,” head coach Perry Wright said. “They played much better this time against Rhodes. Going down 0-3 in doubles was very deflating, but I am proud how we rebounded. We played great singles matches across the board and were very close on almost all of them."
Natalie Donnelly provided CC's only point, posting a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alex Phipps at No. 4 singles after trailing 4-1 in the second set.
“Natalie's opponent was giving her more errors than last time in the first set,” Wright said. “In the second, Phipps picked up her game a bit, and was up 4-1. Natalie played very smart, patient, defensive singles and was able to rattle off five straight games for the win.”
Deanna Thirkell dropped a 6-4, 7-6 decision to Carolina Sanchez-Hervas at No. 3 singles, while Jordan Evans came fell by just a few points during a 6-4, 6-3 loss at No. 2.
“Deanna was points away from going to a 3rd set,” Wright said. “She really turned on her game in the 2nd by hitting out from the midcourt. Jordan especially played a great match. She controlled the pace of the match and played very smart. Very often the ball was on her strings for the point, but occasionally couldn't execute on the important points.”
Tori Marsh saw her three-match winning streak come to an end at No. 5 singles by scores of 6-3, 6-3.
CC dropped all three doubles matches.
The Tigers play Oglethorpe University on Saturday at 8 a.m.
Results
Doubles
1. Sanford/Havner (RC) def. Swenson/Evans (CC) 8-5
2. Moak/Sanchez-Hervas (RC) def. Donelly/Yamamoto (CC) 8-3
3. Martin/Ruddock (RC) def. Thirkell/Marsh (CC) 8-4
Singles
1. Anna Beth Sanford (RC) def. Britt Swenson (CC) 6-1, 6-4
2. Alice Havner (RC) def. Jordan Evans (CC) 6-4, 6-3
3. Carolina Sanchez-Hervas (RC) def. Deanna Thirkell (CC) 6-4, 7-6
4. Natalie Donelly (CC) def. Alex Phipps (RC) 6-3, 6-4
5. Aya Kato (RC) def. Tori Marsh (CC) 6-3, 6-3
6. Anna Moak (RC) def. Sally Bryant (CC) 6-4, 6-0
