BLACKSBURG, Va. – Top-seeded Winthrop women's tennis (16-7, 9-0 Big South) won its 21
st all-time Big South Conference Championship title as it earned a 4-0 victory over No. 6 host Radford (14-9, 5-4) Friday evening at Virginia Tech's Burrows-Burleson Indoor Tennis Center. With the victory, Winthrop earns the Big South's automatic berth in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
-Radford opened up strong, as Drousile Dzeubou and Tyler Blalock defeated Winthrop's top doubles duo
Megan Kauffman and
Lauren Proctor at the first position 6-2. However, Winthrop steadied itself with wins on courts two and three by
Ellie Burns/
Tayla Van Eck and
Rafaela Santos/
Alisa Soloveva to swiftly take the team point.
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-Burns earned a quick 2-0 lead for the Eagles with a 6-0, 6-2 win from the sixth position over Katey Fruehauf. Burns posted a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Radford's Jeanine Acierto in the regular season.
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-The shutout sets continued at the first position as Proctor put on another dominant display with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Anastasia Belyaeva at court one.
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-Van Eck put up the clinching fourth point with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Acierto at the fifth position.
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NOTABLES
-The Eagles have now won 21 Big South Conference Championship titles in program history. No other league member, current or former, has won more than three.
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-Proctor posted her 20
th win of the season, reaching the 20-win mark for all four years of her career.
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UP NEXT
The Eagles have earned the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They will learn their destination during the NCAA selection show on Mon., Apr. 29 at 6:30 p.m. on ncaa.com.
FULL RESULTS
Singles
1. #55 PROCTOR, Lauren (WIN) def. Anastasia Belyaeva (RAD) 6-0, 6-2
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) vs. Drousile Dzeubou (RAD) 6-0, 5-3, unfinished
3. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) vs. Malin Falk (RAD) 2-6, 4-2, unfinished
4. SANTOS, Rafaela (WIN) vs. Tyler Blalock (RAD) 6-3, 4-2, unfinished
5. VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. Jeanine Acierto (RAD) 6-0, 6-1
6. BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. Katey Fruehauf (RAD) 6-0, 6-2
Doubles
1. Drousile Dzeubou/Tyler Blalock (RAD) def. #41 KAUFFMAN, Megan/PROCTOR, Lauren (WIN) 6-2
2. SANTOS, Rafaela/SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) def. Malin Falk/Katey Fruehauf (RAD) 6-3
3. BURNS, Ellie/VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. Anastasia Belyaeva/Jeanine Acierto (RAD) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,1,5)