March 25, 2014
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFKnights.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The trend of close matches continued for the UCF women's tennis team Tuesday, but the Knights were unable to pick up a win in a 4-3 loss to No. 71 Samford at the UCF Tennis Complex.
The Black and Gold fell to 4-9, and the Bulldogs moved to 12-1 this season.
Ten of UCF's 13 matches in 2014 have been decided by either 4-3 or 5-2 margins.
Facing its sixth nationally-ranked opponent this year, the Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a pair of victories in doubles. At No. 1, Courtney Griffith and Caroline Eberhart topped Kristin Lewis and Emily Mallory, 8-5. The doubles point then came down to No. 2, and Sofia Baptista and Josephine Haraldson survived with an 8-7(2) triumph over Stephanie N'tcha and Carita Moolman.
When singles began, Eberhart doubled UCF's lead by way of a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 3 against Yasmeen Ebada. However, the Bulldogs stormed back with three straight victories to take a 3-2 overall lead.
Tying it up, Griffith came through with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 decision over Lewis at No. 2. The attention shifted over to No. 6 where Annika Hepp split the first two sets against Lauren Caballero and had a 5-1 cushion in the third. But Caballero fought back and gave the Bulldogs the team win, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
UCF concludes its five-match homestand with a 2 p.m. clash with East Tennessee State Thursday.
Tennis Match Results
Samford vs UCF
Mar 25, 2014 at Orlando, Fla.
#71 Samford 4, UCF 3
Singles competition
1. Stephanie N'tcha (SAM) def. Josephine Haraldson (UCF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
2. Courtney Griffith (UCF) def. Kristin Lewis (SAM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Caroline Eberhart (UCF) def. Yasmeen Ebada (SAM) 6-3, 6-0
4. Jessica Northcutt (SAM) def. Sofia Baptista (UCF) 6-3, 6-4
5. Emily Mallory (SAM) def. Clare Mendell (UCF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6. Lauren Caballero (SAM) def. Annika Hepp (UCF) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Courtney Griffith/Caroline Eberhart (UCF) def. Kristin Lewis/Emily Mallory (SAM) 8-5
2. Sofia Baptista/Josephine Haraldson (UCF) def. Stephanie N'tcha/Carita Moolman (SAM) 8-7 (7-2)
3. Yasmeen Ebada/Jessica Northcutt (SAM) def. Cortney Cesarini/Clare Mendell (UCF) 8-2
Match Notes:
Samford 12-1; National ranking #71
UCF 4-9