Charlotte Defeats East Carolina

On Saturday, March 21 I had the opportunity to see the Charlotte women's tennis team for the first time this season. The Lady Niners were off to an 8-3 start while their opponent, East Carolina, was coming into the match at 10-3. I wasn't sure what to expect from these teams from the Atlantic 10 and Conference USA, respectively. I did think it would be a competitive contest.

East Carolina took the doubles point on a cool and very sunny day in Charlotte. The Pirates won at courts one and three by a score of 8-4 on each court. It's never a good sign when you lose the doubles point.

When singles play started you could tell Charlotte was going to make this a tough match. They jumped out to big leads on courts one, five and six and won each of those first sets fairly easily. On court six, Kimber Redfern of Charlotte fell behind 2-0 in the second set and it looked like that match might turn, but instead Redfern quickly found the zone she was in when she won the first set 6-2, and breezed the rest of the way to win it 6-2 over Tamara Sachs. She was simply better at keeping the ball in play and making her opponent take one more shot. On court four, Brooke Walter from East Carolina was breezing through Gabi Vergara and won it decisively 6-1, 6-2. A short while later, the Lady Niners closed out the match on court five and the match was tied at 2-2.



On court one, after Charlotte senior Yudeshnee Pillay won her first set over Jessica Cook 6-3, it looked she would be a lock to win it in straight sets. Cook played a lot looser in the second set and held on for a 6-4 win, sending it to a third. Pillay fought back and took the final set 6-3, giving Charlotte the lead. Charlotte would later close out the matches on courts two and three to take the match 5-2.

The Charlotte men's team did not have a match scheduled and they were out to cheer the Lady Niners on, following their practice session. Good stuff. With the win, Charlotte improved its record to 9-3 and all of these wins will come in handy when being considered for the NCAA tournament later in the season.

Time.