TU Falls On The Road
By: Billy Owens, Contributing Writing
Towson lost two close matches to UNC Wilmington and Massachusetts to end its four match tour of the Carolinas this week.
Friday, the Tigers fell to the Seahawks 3-4 at UNC Wilmington Tennis Center in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Towson lost two of the three doubles matches to give UNC Wilmington the opening doubles point.
Madara Straume and Sabrina Barisano beat sophomore Lucy Williams and freshman Lucy Gloninger 6-4 at number two doubles while Alix Theodossiou and Hollie Champion beat sophomore Renate van Oorschodt and sophomore A.J. Gomer at number three doubles.
Christine Kharkevitch and Laura Gomez were leading sophomore Nicole Shakhnazarova and sophomore Barbora Vasilkova 6-5 at number one doubles, but the match was suspended after the Seahawks clinched the doubles point.
The two schools split the six matches in the singles competition.
For Towson, number one Shakhnazarova picked up her third straight singles win by beating Straume 6-4, 7-5.
Number two Williams beat Kharkevitch 6-4, 6-7 (3), 10-8 in a tight three-setter, and number six Gloninger earned her first conference match win by beating Champion 6-4, 6-3.
UNC Wilmington won the remaining singles matches, as Theodossiou beat number three Vasilkova 1-6, 7-5, 11-9 and Gomez beat number four Gomer 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in three-set comebacks, and Barisano beat number five Yevgeniya Shusterman 6-3, 7-5.
“Again, the doubles point was crucial,” Head Coach Doug Neagle said. “It was so close.”
Thursday, the Tigers fell to the Minutemen 2-5 in a neutral site matchup at the College of Charleston Tennis Center at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
“I’ve never seen as much energy as we‘ve had the past two matches,” Neagle said. “Even though they were both losses.”
Against Massachusetts, Towson lost two of its three doubles matches to surrender the opening doubles point.
Minutemen Ana Yrazusta and Carol Benito defeated Shakhnazarova and Vasilkova 6-3 at number one doubles while Anna Woosley and Ruth Crawford defeated Williams and Gloninger 6-4 at number two doubles.
Towson earned only one win in doubles, as van Oorschodt and Gomer defeated Arielle Griffin and Brittany Collens 6-2 at number three doubles.
In singles action Towson picked up two victories as number one Shakhnazarova beat Crawford 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 and number three Vasilkova beat Griffin 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Massachusetts went on to take the rest of the singles matches, as Woosley defeated number four Gomer 7-5, 6-4 and Collens defeated Shusterman 6-4, 6-1.
Yrazusta defeated number two Williams 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 and Benito defeated number five van Oorschodt 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in close three-set matches.
Towson will travel to New York Friday to take on Fordham before meeting Hofstra Saturday.
