March 17, 2007
Box Score
Macon, Ga. - The Owls won at both No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but fell to Mercer, 5-2, in an Atlantic Sun Conference match on Friday afternoon at the LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center.
Mercer (2-13, 1-4 A-Sun) ended its nine-mach losing streak after the match was delayed for nearly an hour due to weather conditions south of Atlanta.
"It was another "close but no cigar" match for us today," said Director of Tennis Operations T.J. Greggs. "Unfortunately, this team was very strong at the bottom of their lineup, so it was a bit of a strange result, having won so easily at the top of the lineup."
Kennesaw State (1-12, 0-6 A-Sun) dropped the doubles point as Mercer took all three matches. The Owls best doubles showing came at the top of the lineup where Mercedes Cobos and Giselle Nakakura were edged, 8-7, by Lauriane Auvergne and Irys Citkos.
Mercer won at No. 2 doubles as Anna Wieslander and Kelly Blount defeated Karen Ammann and Caroline Page by an 8-2 score. Priscilla Dias and Rachel Kerley topped Lindsey Whalen and Morgan Wolkin, 8-0, at No. 3 to complete the sweep.
In singles, the Owls came out strong and swept the first two positions. Cobos came out solid and routed Auvergne in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-2. Nakakura and Citko played the most competitive match of the afternoon with the Owls senior coming out ahead, 7-6 and 6-4.
"Mercedes played very well and Giselle had one of her best matches of the season in singles," commented Greggs. "I wish they would have been able to pull out the doubles match, since they dominated the same two opponents in singles."
However, the Owls momentum quickly slowed and they wouldn't get another point in the match. The No. 3 through No. 6 singles positions all suffered straight set losses. Wieslander got Mercer back on track with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Karen Ammann at No. 3 while Jeni Thomas fell to Dias at No. 4, 6-1 and 6-2.
Kerley defeated Page in straight sets at No. 5 while Whalen fell to Bellman, 6-2 and 6-0 at No. 6 singles.
Mercer 5, Kennesaw State 2
Doubles
No. 1 Lauriane Auvergine/Irys Citko (Mer) d. Mercedes Cobos/Giselle Nakakura (KSU) 8-7
No. 2 Kelly Blount/Anna Wieslander (Mer) d. Karen Ammann/Caroline Page (KSU) 8-2
No. 3 Priscilla Dias/Rachel Kerley (Mer) d. Lindsey Whalen/Morgan Wolkin (KSU) 8-0
Singles
No. 1 Cobos (KSU) d. Auvergine (Mer) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 Nakakura (KSU) d. Citko (Mer) 7-6, 6-4
No. 3 Wieslander (Mer) d. Ammann (KSU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 Dias (Mer) d. Thomas (KSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Kerley, Rachel (Mer) d. Page (KSU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 6 Bellman, Karen (Mer) d. Whalen (KSU) 6-2, 6-0
Exhibition Cali Sachs (Mer) d. Morgan Wolkin (KSU) 8-3
