Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Belmont
Women’s Tennis Earns 4-3 Win Over Belmont
2/20/2011 12:25:47 PM | Women's Tennis
Score Sheet
“I finally have an idea where we are as a team,” said head coach Connie Keasling. “Tennis is a sport of individual performances, but now I know how those individuals fit together to form this team. We have established a true identity as a team.”
It came down to the final match, and was a battle all the way through. In doubles, sophomore Ashley Canty and junior Cassidy Cunitz started the match off with an 8-6 win at No. 1 doubles. However, Belmont earned an 8-3 win over freshmen Taylor Vick and Carla Suga at No. 3 doubles to force No. 2 doubles to decide the point. Seniors Alexis Webb and Lindsey Wiseman fought to a tie-breaker with Laura Stack and Linsay Bennett, but eventually the point went to the Bruins, with a 9-8 (11-9) win.
In singles play, Cunitz was the first to finish and earned a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 over Abby Leatherwood at No. 1 doubles to even out the score. The next two singles to finish left the score tied at 2, after Wiseman fell at No. 3 singles and Canty earned a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles over Fabiana Mersan. Belmont earned the No. 4 singles point, and was ahead 3-2 when No. 5 and No. 6 singles started.
In both positions, junior Ashley Pierson and Vick dropped their opening sets before fighting back to earn victories. Pierson finished first to even the score, with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over Natalia Nunes at No. 5 singles. Vick's match took longer, as the second set went into a tie-breaker, but she earned the 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Laura Stack to give the win to MSU.
“Cassidy and Ashley Canty started off the singles with a tremendous effort and played at their peak performance,” Keasling added. “It came down to Ashley Pierson and Taylor Vick, both dropped their first set and proved themselves as competitors in the final two sets.”
