Pikeville, KY – UPIKE women's tennis earned a 5-2 victory over MSC foe Shawnee State on Friday afternoon, trumping trumping the Bears 2-1 in doubles before winning four of six singles matchups.
The win is the first in conference play this season and the first career MSC victory for head coach
Cailee Marcum. Friday's win follows a pair of losses to Campbellsville and Georgetown, both ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA top 25. UPIKE dropped to Thomas More on Wednesday in a close match that ended in a 3-4 Saints win.
The Bears bounced back on Friday and trumped Shawnee State, opening with the duo of
Andrea Hurtado and
Gabriela Guacanes who got the team off to a good start with a 6-4 victory in the number one doubles.
Luisa Castenada and
Camila Agudelo struggled, falling 1-6 in the second doubles but
Riley Mullins and
Erica Metzger roared back in the last doubles, edging out a 7-6 victory in a tiebreak match.
Hurtado posted the first singles win of the day for UPIKE as she easily took care of her opponent 6-1 in both sets. Castenada took the court next and battled for a 6-4 victory in the first set before sealing the singles victory 6-1 in set two.
Guacanes dominated in her opening set, shutting out Urban of SSU 6-0, going on to snag set two 6-2.
Riley Mullins earned the fourth and final singles win for the Bears going 6-3 and 6-2.
"The ladies really pulled together for a team win," said Coach Marcum, "I was impressed by our number three doubles squad getting a clutch win in the tiebreak. Our singles followed nicely with straight wins from 2,3,4,5."
UPIKE women's tennis turns around quickly for a tough match against (13) Lindsey Wilson on Sunday, March 28
th at Bob Amos Park.
