LYNCHBURG, VA – The Winthrop men's and women's tennis teams won their last conference match of the regular season as both beat the Liberty Flames 7-0 and 6-1 respectively on Saturday in Lynchburg, VA.
With the win, the men improve to 10-11 (5-1) on the season, while the women are now 13-8 (6-1).
In men's action, the Eagles started ahead on the scoreboard as they captured the doubles point. In the no. 1 doubles match, Daniel Daudt and Sergey Belov beat Siim Tuus and Tristan Stayt 8-1, while Nadav Ruppin and Guy Kubi defeated Giancarlo Lemmi and Chad Simpson 8-3 in the no. 2 doubles match. Ruppin and Kubi ended the regular season unbeaten in conference play with a 6-0 Big South record.
In singles play, Winthrop kept strong as it won all six singles matches. In the no. 1 singles, Belov defeated Tuus 6-3, 6-4, while Ruppin beat Stayt 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the no. 2 singles match. In the no. 3 singles match, Liran Levy defeated Lemmi 6-1, 6-3, while Dejon Bivens beat Simpson 6-3, 6-1 in the no. 4 singles match. In the no. 5 singles match, Kubi defeated Louis Steyn 6-3, 6-1, while Daudt came back from one set down to beat Juan Reyes 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the no. 6 singles match.
“I'm very proud of the way the guys played and won today,” head coach Cid Carvalho said. “By winning today's match, we guarantee at least a co-championship of the Big South regular season. We are peaking at the right time. Hopefully, we will keep playing well in the tournament.”
The Eagles are waiting for tomorrow's match between the Radford Highlanders and UNC Asheville to know their seed in the conference tournament next week. If Radford wins, the Eagles will be seed no. 2 in the tournament and co-champions of the regular season with the Highlanders. If Radford loses, the Eagles will be the only champion of the regular season and seed no. 1 in the Big South championship.
On the women's side of the competition, the Lady Eagles started strong as they won the doubles point. In the no. 1 doubles match, Elizaveta Zaytseva and Yasmine Alkema beat Jordan Jenkins and Hannah Fick 8-6, while Sandra Herrera and Giovanna Portiolli defeated Nadia Solomon-Burgess and Carol Lobel 8-5 in the no. 2 doubles match. The Lady Eagles won no. 3 doubles by default. Winthrop's no. 1 and 2 duos finished the regular season unbeaten in conference play. Zaytseva and Alkema have a 5-0 conference record, while Herrerra and Portiolli have a 7-0 Big South record.
In singles play, Winthrop continued strong as it captured five of six matches. In the no. 2 singles match, Zaytseva beat Solomon-Burgess 6-0, 6-2, while Herrera defeated Lobel 6-0, 6-0 in the no. 3 singles match. In the no. 4 singles match, Portiolli beat Fabiana Gouveia 6-0, 6-0, while Lisa Wilkinson defeated Fick 6-2, 6-3 in the no. 5 singles match. Winthrop won no. 6 singles by default. Herrera and Portiolli finished the regular season unbeaten in conference singles matches with a 7-0 record. Sara Abutovic, who was injured at the beginning of the season, also finished unbeaten in Big South singles matches after more than four months without playing due to a knee surgery.
“The girls played very well at no.1 and 2 doubles. Then, we followed by playing well in singles, winning two through five, then winning no. 6 by default,” Carvalho said. “We are looking forward to playing the Big South tournament starting next week on Thursday.”
With the win, the women's team guarantees the seed no. 2 in the Big South tournament. The Charleston Southern Buccaneers will be seed no. 1.
The men's and women's teams will head to Radford, VA, next week, where they will play the Big South Championship starting on Thursday.
