March 10, 2007
Box Score
CANTON, Ga. - When Evansville came to town to face winless Kennesaw State not many people gave the Owls much of a chance. Well, not only did the Owls have a chance to pull off their biggest upset of the season, they came within two third set losses of stunning the Aces before falling , 5-2, on Saturday afternoon at the BridgeMill Tennis Complex.
In a match that was closer than it appeared, the Owls (0-10) seemed headed towards another quick defeat, losing all three doubles matches and not winning more than three games in any set. However, the lethargy wore off quickly and Kennesaw State roared back to push Evansville (12-2) to the limit in singles.
" The team responded extremely well in singles today after a rough go of it in doubles, said head coach Brandon Padgett. "The energy level was high today on all of the courts, and we nearly knocked off a very solid team, so there is nothing to be disappointed about."
After wins by Giselle Nakakura at No. 2 and Caroline Page at No. 6, the Owls saw themselves trailing only 3-2 with Mercedes Cobos and Karen Ammann headed into third sets with Kennesaw State having a chance to win its first match of the season. However, both Cobos and Ammann lost their deciding sets by 6-2 scores.
"This is the type of effort that can provide an excellent building block for the future of the program," added a pleased Padgett. "I was happy to see Giselle (Nakakura)and Caroline (Page) pull of big wins today and get their singles seasons back on track."
"Mercedes played her strongest match of the season against a very talented opponent. We had two matches left on court with a chance to win this one, but we came up just short. All we can ask is for a chance to win and we had that chance today."
Evansville 5, Kennesaw State 2
Doubles
No.1 Brown/Peyton (EU) d. Cobos/Nakakura (KSU) 8-2
No.2 Kawamoto/Wilhoite (EU) d. Whalen/Thomas (KSU) 8-1
No.3 Ammann/Page (KSU) d. Cox/Elliott (EU) 8-3
Singles
No.1 Brittany Brown (EU) d. Mercedes Cobos (KSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
No.2 Giselle Nakakura (KSU) d. Beth Peyton (UE) 6-2, 6-2
No.3 Lisa Kawamoto (EU) d. Karen Ammann (KSU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
No.4 Allie Cox (EU) d. Jeni Thomas (KSU) 6-2, 6-1
No.5 Sara Wilhoite (EU) d. Lindsey Whalen (KSU) 6-1, 6-0
No.6 Caroline Page (KSU) d. Stephanie Millis (EU) 6-2, 7-5
Exhibition Match Jamie Petty (EU) d. Morgan Wolkin (KSU) 3-6, 6-1, 13-11 (TB)
