CHARLESTON – The West Virginia Wesleyan Lady Bobcats made quick work of Virginia-Wise in the first round of the MEC Championship today in Charleston.
The Lady Bobcats dispatched Virginia-Wise by a 5-1 score.
The win was a nice measure of revenge for the Lady 'Cats who lost a 5-4 regular-season decision to Virginia-Wise early in the year.
Wesleyan jumped into a 2-1 lead after doubles play.
The No. 2 Wesleyan duo of Sarah Cameron and Angela Pittinger defeated Haley Thacker and Mary Jo Stallard by an 8-5 score and the No. 3 doubles team of Allene Conner and Kasumi Hayashi (pictured) beat Marti Gay and Junetta Nuckles by the same 8-5 score.
In singles action, Wesleyan managed to get to the magical fifth victory without suffering a setback.
No. 1 Paula Pimenta defeated Daria Tyschenko (6-3, 6-1), No. 2 Julia Uchoa beat Thacker (6-1, 6-3) and No. 4 Cameron knocked off Mary Jo Stallard (6-2, 6-3).
"We probably played our best match from top to bottom of the year," remarked head coach Marc Walters. "After a slight hiccup at No. 1 doubles, we got great performances from two and three doubles.
"From there, we won the first set in all six matches and clinched when Sarah Cameron took the number four spot. We were up a set and a break on each of the other three courts when we quit, which is a lot different than when we lost to them down at their place. I was impressed with the way we controlled our singles matches."
Wesleyan will now entertain West Virginia State tomorrow in semi-final action. State went 7-0 this year to claim the MEC regular season title. They defeated Wesleyan last weekend by a 9-0 score.
"The win was a nice boost going into the West Virginia State match tomorrow, and also a nice indicator that we have improved from the beginning to the end of the year," Walters said. "We move into the semi-finals for the second consecutive year at the MEC tournament, and avenge our earlier loss to Wise from September."
Wesleyan and West Virginia State will begin at 11 a.m.
(Photo couresty of MEC)
#5 West Virginia Wesleyan def. #4 UVa-Wise, 5-1
Doubles
#1 Tyschenko/Christoforatos (Wise) def. Pimenta/Uchoa (WVWC), 8-3
#2 Cameron/Pittinger (WVWC) def. Thacker/Stallard (Wise), 8-5
#3 Connor/Hayashi (WVWC) def. Gay/Nuckles (Wise), 8-5
Singles
#1 Paula Pimenta (WVWC) def. Daria Tyschenko (Wise), 6-3, 6-1
#2 Julia Uchoa (WVWC) def. Haley Thacker (Wise), 6-1, 6-3
#4 Sarah Cameron (WVWC) def. Mary Jo Stallard (Wise), 6-2, 6-3
