WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Winthrop’s No. 1 seed women’s tennis team captured its 19th Big South Conference Championship and gained revenge for its only regular season league loss with a 4-1 victory over No. 2 Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Complex.
Winthrop took the doubles point at No. 1 and No. 2. Caitlin Cridland and Alisa Soloveva defeated Mi’Kola Cooper and Valeria Koussenkova 6-3 at No. 2 to give Winthrop the 1-0 lead. Charleston Southern tied the score at 1-1 when Yana Morar and Kimberly Koerner defeated Aida Kelic and Alya Mourad 6-3 at No. 3. Megan Kauffman and Lauren Proctor clinched the point for Winthrop at No. 1 when they defeated Charleston Southern’s Sophie Cloessner and Nicolin Luecke 6-4.
Proctor gave Winthrop a 2-0 lead when she defeated Luecke 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles. Charleston Southern’s Koussenkova defeated Kelic 6-3, 6-1 at No. 5 for the Bucs’ first point of the match. The Eagles extended their lead to 3-1 when Kauffman downed Koerner at No. 4 with scores of 6-3, 6-2. Winthrop clinched the win at No. 3 when Cridland defeated Cooper in straight sets of 6-4, 6-4.
Coach Cid Carvalho‘s Eagles will now wait until Tuesday, May 2, to learn their opponents and regional site for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships. The selections will be announced via the NCAA’s live video stream at 5:30 p.m. on May 2. Winthrop will enter the NCAA tournament with a 19-5 record.
Singles competition
1. PROCTOR, Lauren (WU) def. LUECKE, Nicolin (CSU) 6-1, 6-3
2. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WU) vs. CLOESSNER, Sophie (CSU) undecided
3. CRIDLAND, Caitlin (WU) def. COOPER, Mi’Kola (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WU) def. KOERNER, Kimberly (CSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) def. KELIC, Aida (WU) 6-3, 6-1
6. MOURAD, Alya (WU) vs. MORAR, Yana (CSU) undecided
Doubles competition
1. KAUFFMAN, Megan/PROCTOR, Lauren (WU) def. CLOESSNER, Sophie/LUECKE, Nicolin (CSU) 6-4
2. CRIDLAND, Caitlin/SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WU) def. COOPER, Mi’Kola/KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) 6-3
3. MORAR, Yana/KOERNER, Kimberly (CSU) def. KELIC, Aida/MOURAD, Alya (WU) 6-3