Feb. 21, 2012

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University women's tennis team will put its 2012 undefeated record on the line Wednesday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the UAB Blazers to the Samford Tennis Center for a key non-conference matchup.

Samford (6-0) heads into the cross-town showdown riding the positive momentum of an 11-match home undefeated streak. The Bulldogs already boast a 6-0 record at the Samford Tennis Center this season and have not been defeated at home since dropping a slight 4-3 decision against Furman on March 27, 2011.

Already this year, Samford has tallied non-conference victories against Middle Tennessee 4-3, Louisiana-Lafayette 6-1, Austin Peay 6-1, Jacksonville State 7-0, South Alabama 4-0 and Southern Miss 7-0.

In Saturday's blanking of Southern Miss, the Bulldogs swept the doubles competition and then received singles wins from Kristin Lewis, Madelie Janse Van Rensburg, Stephanie N'tcha, Rebecca Kirven, Lindsey Mallory and Emily Mallory.

Janse Van Rensburg, Samford's talented senior from Franschhoek, South Africa, earned a three-set singles win against the Golden Eagles' Elja van Berlo on court No. 2. With the victory, she extended her undefeated streak to six-consecutive matches and improved to 6-0 this season.

The Bulldogs' N'tcha, Lindsey Mallory and Emily Mallory all extended their winning streaks to four-straight matches Saturday. Emily Mallory owns a perfect 4-0 record in singles play this season, while Lindsey Mallory improved to 4-1 and N'tcha moved to 4-2.

UAB (1-3) enters Wednesday's intra-city contest with aspirations of bouncing back from a 5-2 home loss against South Alabama on Feb. 12.

In the non-conference setback, the Blazers won two of the top three singles positions, but fell by a score of 5-2 at the Samford Tennis Complex.

UAB's Isabel Fernandez and Rachel Daniell accounted for the Blazers' two points as both won their matches in three sets. Fernandez downed South Alabama's Chane Hines, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, at No. 2 singles, while Daniell posted a 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 win over Ramona Ghermani at the No. 3 position.

The top singles match also went three sets, but South Alabama's Alina Volman topped Paula Alvarez, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

South Alabama did most of its damage in the second half of the singles lineup where the Jaguars lost just seven total games from the No. 4 position through the No. 6 spot.

UAB's Menanteau Moolman suffered a 6-2, 6-3 loss to Mariya Krachok at court No. 4, while Richole Berger fell by a 6-0, 6-1 score to Emily Newton in the No. 5 singles contest and Rachel Cohen dropped a 6-1, 6-0 decision to Mary Angela Martin on court No. 6.

South Alabama also controlled the doubles courts, taking all three matches. The three games won at No. 3 doubles by Berger and Caroline Faught were the most for any UAB team against their South Alabama opponents.

Last season, Samford earned a 7-0 victory against UAB. The Bulldogs took doubles point by winning two of the three matches to take an early 1-0 lead.

In the No. 2 doubles contest, Samford's combination of Kirven and Andrie Meiring breezed to an 8-0 triumph, while the Bulldogs' pairing of Janse Van Rensburg and Jessica Diamond tallied an 8-2 victory on court No. 3.

Samford swept all six matches in singles play last season to earn its 7-0 victory.

Samford's Taylor Morgan, Meiring, Janse Van Rensburg, Lewis and Lindsey Mallory all cruised to straight-set wins, while Kirven came from behind to tally a momentous 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 decision against UAB's Brittany DeFelice in the No. 5 singles contest.

Following Wednesday's cross-town showdown with UAB, the Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs conclude their season-opening, eight-match homestand with a non-conference contest against the UTSA Roadrunners to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.