The Lee University women’s tennis team collected wins in the first four completed singles matches to defeat Lincoln Memorial University 4-3 Thursday afternoon at the LMU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Lady Flames improved to 6-0, while the Railsplitters fell to 8-6.
LMU swept the doubles contests to secure the doubles point and grab an early 1-0 advantage. Adriana Pellizzari and Mar Garcia Bucosa beat Lee’s 43rd-ranked team of Mirjana Ragastovac and Nicolette Fuhr 6-2 at No. 3 doubles. Rosalie Carrier Dulac and Lucie Palud doubled-up Ashleigh Simes and Aliyah Dwyer 6-3 to win at the first position.
Marta Melnichenok and Alexandra Ortiz were 6-2 winners over Maria Penalver Aguilo and Kanna Kobayakawa at No. 2 doubles.
No. 1 ranked Simes evened the team score with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Pellizzari at No. 1 singles. Penalver Aguilo took down Melnichenok 6-1 and 6-4 to put the Lady Flames in the lead. Kobayakawa beat Mann-Ning Li 6-4, 6-1 at No. 5 singles. Dwyer held off Ortiz 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to clinch the team victory with the score sitting at 4-1.
Carrier Dulac posted a win at No. 3 singles against Ragastovac to close the gap. Fuhr won her No. 6 singles set 6-2 against Carla Ramonet, but Ramonet claimed the next two sets with matching 6-2 scores to make the final team score 4-3.
“We faced an early setback with doubles, but our team really dug in and fought back hard in singles,” said Lee head coach Patric Hynes. “It’s not easy to win indoors here, so we will take this one. Now we need to get ready for North Georgia.”
The Lady Flames take on No. 2 North Georgia in Chattanooga on Saturday as part of the Scenic City College Tennis Spring Break Showcase. The non-conference match is set for 10 a.m. at the Champions Club Tennis Complex at Rivermont Park.