Buckhannon, W.Va. —The West Virginia Wesleyan Women's Tennis Team lost consecutive matches this week to conference front-runners West Liberty State Thursday, and West Virginia State Friday, each by identical 8-1 scores. The 'Cats were swept in the doubles in both duals, and then took straight set defeats in 5 of the 6 singles. The dual losses were the first on the season for the Lady Bobcats, who fall to 4-2, 2-2 in the MEC.
The bright spot for Wesleyan was the stellar play of freshman Paula Pimenta, who turned in two tough performances to remain undefeated in conference singles play by running her record to 4-0 at the #1 position. On Friday in Institute, Pimenta capped her week with a solid 6-4, 6-2 win over WV State senior Andreea Slusarcuic. On Thursday, she turned back the Hilltopper's top player Lauren Howard in two tie-breaks, 7-6 (5) 7-6 (3).
Pimenta becomes the first Lady Bobcat to claim singles wins over the #1 player from both WV State or West Liberty in the past 6 years, dating back to the 2008 season. She is currently 8-1 in singles heading into the Bobcats' Sunday showdown with the University of Charleston. The Golden Eagle women are currently tied for second in the MEC, one spot ahead of Wesleyan.
"Paula continues to impress us with her fortitude and the variety in her game," said coach Marc Walters of the talented freshmen. "She came off a very physically demanding win on Thursday, then turned around on the road and grinded out another win against a really mentally strong player the next day. IN fact she got better in the second match as the game progressed, which is a great sign of her ability to play at a high level. She will definitely get some looks, and deservedly so, for MEC Freshman and Player of the Year awards if she keeps this up through the next week of conference play. "
The Bobcats are back in action at home Sunday as they play host to against the University of Charleston at the Ross complex. First serve is set for 10am, weather permitting.
WVWC vs WLSU and WVState BOX Link attached (cut and paste)
