SALEM, Va. / SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Sweet Briar College tennis team (9-3, 5-0 ODAC) displayed its dominance on the court today with 9-0 victories over the Roanoke College Maroons (5-5, 2-2 ODAC) and the Ferrum College Panthers (2-2, 0-1 ODAC).
A split squad saw action in Salem, kicking things off with a strong showing in doubles play. The duo of Caro/Simhambhatla were perfect against Johnson/Maiden with an 8-0 victory while de Souza/Wandling took the win in the No. 1 slot with an 8-2 score over Bassett/Fernstrum.
The pairing Andrade/Kotany saw action at the No. 2 flight and took down Rios/Striebich by a score of 8-5 to put Sweet Briar up 3-0.
Both seniors
Kate Kotany (Erd, Hungary) and
Nikhita Simhambhatla (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) earned clean 6-0, 6-0 sweeps in their matches. Kotany defeated Victoria Rios at the No. 4 position while Simhambhatla earned the win over Zane Maiden at the No. 5 spot.
Additionally, seniors
Allison Wandling (Mechanicsville, Va.) and
Sofia Andrade (Latacunga, Ecuador) and sophomore
Maria Caro (Bogota, Colombia) all played at least one set without conceding a single game. Wandling won by scores of 6-0, 6-2 against Lia Striebich at the No. 2 flight while Andrade posted the same score over Julia Bassett at the No. 3 flight.
Caro earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Maddie Morell at the No. 6 singles position. Senior
Ruth de Souza closed out her No. 1 singles match earlier than anyone else, leaving Salem with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Halle Fernstrum.
The Vixens were equally as perfect in their afternoon contest against Ferrum with the team of I. Guilarte/Patino kicking things off with an 8-0 win at the No. 1 doubles spot.
A. Guilarte/Bestwick earned an 8-3 victory over Hundley/Mahood at the No. 2 slot while Bestwick/Chen took home the 8-3 victory at third doubles.
In singles play, three members of the team never conceded a single game to their Panthers competitors. Sophomore
Ana Patino (Medellín, Colombia), junior
Isabela Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and first-year
Lucia Bovard (Mount Pleasant, N.C.) all won their matches by scores of 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 spots, respectively.
First-years
Alex Guilarte (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) and
Isa Chen (Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil) were both perfect in their set with A. Guilarte taking down Morgan Hundley 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 3 flight and Chen taking down Hannah Huffman 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 5 flight.
Junior
Avery Jones (Union, Conn.) concluded the match for Sweet Briar with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Gabby Mendoza at the No. 6 spot.
Highlights
- Sweet Briar has swept Ferrum in their last three matchups.
- Bovard/A. Guilarte remains perfect in doubles play with a 3-0 record.
- Simhambhatla currently holds the longest singles win streak for the Vixens, having not lost in the past five matches she's played in.
What's Next
Sweet Briar will travel to Ohio next week to take on Otterbein, No. 29 Denison, No. 12 Case Western Reserve and No. 30 Kenyon, March 24-26.
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