ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop women's tennis (11-6, 7-0 Big South) fell short 4-3 to Charlotte (13-6, 3-2 C-USA) in a 3.5 hour match Thursday afternoon at Rock Hill Tennis Center

HOW IT HAPPENED 
-The contest opened with an intense doubles point which saw two of three courts decided in tiebreakers. Winthrop's Ellie Burns and Tayla Van Eck earned a 6-3 win at court three over Pierina Imparato and Sasha Lee of Charlotte to spark Winthrop. The Eagles looked to be on their way to clinching the point, as 46^th-ranked duo Megan Kauffman and Lauren Proctor had a 5-2 lead at court one. But the 49ers' Tai Martin and Immie Cowper rattled off four-straight games, including breaking the Eagles on serve twice, to take a 6-5 lead. Winthrop answered to force a set tiebreak at 6-6. Each duo saved multiple match points, the Eagles two and the Niners three, before Martin and Cowper earned a 12-10 win in the lengthy set tiebreak.
 
-Meanwhile at court two, Alisa Soloveva and Rafaela Santos had battled back from trailing 0-3 to take a 4-3 lead over Rocio Safont and Emma Scott. Soloveva and Santos would own a 5-4 lead as well as a 6-5 lead, but would never earn a two-game margin and headed to a set tiebreak at 6-6. Safont and Scott came out on top in the set tiebreak to decide the match, as well as the doubles point.
 
-The 43^rd-ranked senior Proctor aimed to spark the Eagles in singles play, posting a quick straight-set victory at the No. 1 position over Martin to even the scoreboard. The Niners had an answer at the No. 5 position as Scott defeated Van Eck.
 
-At No. 2 Soloveva faced off again with Safont, coming back from down 4-5 to earn a 7-5 win in her first set, and carrying the momentum to a 6-2 second set and match win to bring the team score to 2-2.
 
-After a promising first set in which she steamed through Lee 6-1, Santos couldn't quite find her footing in the second set, falling 6-4 after being tied at 4-4. In the deciding third set, Lee quickly pulled ahead and earned a 6-3 decision at No. 4.
 
-Kauffman had also won her first set at the No. 3 position, a decisive 6-2 score. In the second, Imparato answered with a 6-4 win to force a third set. Kauffman won the opening game of the third, but Imparato would take control from there and earn a 6-2 win, clinching the team win as well for the 49ers.
 
-With the match decided, Burns' third set at No. 6 would be decided in a 10-point super tiebreak, which she won. After falling 6-3 in the first set, Burns recovered for a 7-6 tiebreaker win in the second set.
 
UP NEXT
Next week Winthrop is on the road at USC Upstate on Tue., Apr. 2 in Big South play, then hosts its final home match of the season on Sat., Apr. 6 against Georgia State at 11 a.m. Seniors Ellie Burns, Megan Kauffman and Lauren Proctor will be recognized by their coaches and teammates prior to the match.

FULL RESULTS

Singles
1. #43 PROCTOR, Lauren (WIN) def. Tai Martin (CHA) 6-3, 6-2
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) def. Rocio Safont (CHA) 7-5, 6-2
3. Pierina Imparato (CHA) def. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Sasha Lee (CHA) def. SANTOS, Rafaela (WIN) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Emma Scott (CHA) def. VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) 6-0, 6-4
6. BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. Zoe Radojicic (CHA) 3-6, 7-6, 1-0 (8)

Doubles
1. Tai Martin/Immie Cowper (CHA) def. #46 PROCTOR, Lauren/KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) 7-6 (10)
2. Rocio Safont/Emma Scott (CHA) def. SOLOVEVA, Alisa/SANTOS, Rafaela (WIN) 7-6 (6)
3. VAN ECK, Tayla/BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. Pierina Imparato/Sasha Lee (CHA) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,5,2,4,3,6)