March 7, 2009

Final Stats

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State women's tennis team came out sharp on Saturday, earning the school's first-ever victory over Campbell after upsetting the Camels 5-2 at the KSU Tennis Complex in the Owls Atlantic Sun Conference opener.

"This is an awesome win for us," said Kennesaw State Head Coach Brandon Padgett on the victory. "Starting the conference season off like this should provide us with a great deal of confidence moving forward."

The Owls, who were well-rested after a two week hiatus, moved their home record to 4-2 and their overall record to 4-5. Campbell, who beat the Owls 5-2 in Buies Creek last season, dropped to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the A-Sun with the loss.

After waiting for the mist to clear and the courts to dry for over an hour, the teams dove straight into the doubles portion of the match with the Owls emerging victorious to take the early lead.

Agatha Palider and MacKenzie Swindall earned their team-leading fourth doubles victory after combining for an 8-1 win at No. 3, while Ayano Tanaka and Vera Shkundina clinched the doubles victory with an 8-3 win at No. 1.

The momentum of the early success carried over into the singles portion of the match, as all four of the doubles winners claimed straight-set victories in singles to give the Owls the 5-2 win.

Tanaka pushed KSU's lead to 2-0 with a quick 6-3, 6-1 victory over Ana Surviladze at No. 2 to open the singles competition. The win moved Tanaka to 6-2 on the season, including 4-1 at No. 2.

Shkundina regained her team-lead in singles wins not long after, winning her seventh match of the season by defeating Blanca Saenz 6-0, 7-5 at No. 1.

After Campbell climbed back into the match with wins at No. 3 and No. 4, Swindall and Palider sealed the deal with wins at the bottom of the lineup. Swindall earned the deciding fourth point with a 6-0, 6-4 win at No. 6 before Palider added icing to the cake with a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 5. The wins moved Swindall's streak to three-straight and Palider's record to 5-1.

"I could not be happier with the effort that the team showed today," added Padgett. "This is a complete reversal of our loss to Campbell last year."

The Owls will hit the road for a match with Bethune Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Wednesday March 11 before returning to the KSU Tennis Complex for an A-Sun showdown with East Tennessee State next Saturday.

Kennesaw State 5
Campbell 2

Doubles Results
#1: Tanaka/Shkundina (KSU) def. Surviladze/Garcia 8-3
#2: Saenz/Gomar def. Carney/Sergeychik (KSU) 8-6
#3: Swindall/Palider (KSU) def. Nikolova/Armitano 8-1

Order of Finish: 3,1,2

Singles Results
 

#1: Vera Shkundina (KSU) def. Blanca Saenz (CAM) 6-0, 7-5
#2: Ayano Tanaka (KSU) Ana Surviladze (CAM) 6-3, 6-1
#3: Borislava Nikolova (CAM) def. Morgan Carney (KSU) 7-6 (4), 6-0
#4: Christina Garcia Brunet (CAM) def. Mercedes Cobos (KSU) 6-3, 6-4
#5: Agatha Palider (KSU) def. Anais Gomar (CAM) 7-5, 6-4
#6: MacKenzie Swindall (KSU) def. Cortney Armitano (CAM) 6-0, 6-4

Order Of Finish: 2,3,1,4,6,5