March 17, 2010

Final Stats

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After seeing its name back in the national rankings on Tuesday, the USC Upstate women's tennis team continued its hot play by earning four singles wins from the No. 3 to No. 6 slots in order to down the Atlantic 10 Conference's Charlotte, 4-3, in non-conference action at the Phillips Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

Upstate (10-1 overall), after falling behind in doubles play, was able to quickly turn it around in singles play, with junior Emilia Milovanovic posting a 6-1, 6-2 win over Candace Cunningham at No. 4 to become the 11th player in school history to reach 40 career singles wins.

The Spartans took the lead when Gabi Vergara was forced to retire at No. 3 singles against freshman Simona Cacciuttolo. Cacciuttolo held a 3-0 lead in the third set after splitting the first two sets, 2-6, 6-0. Sophomore Ana-Sofia Camberos extended the lead to 3-1 with a 7-6 (4), 6-1 win over Anna Ekelund at No. 6 and Cinthya Lazaro clinched the win with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Iveta Guneya at No. 5 before the 49ers (3-10) closed out the match with wins at No. 2 and No. 1.

In doubles play, the two teams split the No. 2 and No. 3 matches, with Upstate's No. 3 pair of Camberos and Lazaro posting an 8-4 win over Andrea Rivera and Candace Cunningham. The 49ers were able to take the point with a 9-8 (2) win at No. 1.

With her singles win, Cacciuttolo became the 11th freshman in school history to reach 10 wins in a season.

Upstate also reached 10 wins for the sixth straight season and for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons.

The Spartans next head to Johnson City, Tenn. for a 12 p.m. Friday match at ETSU, the defending A-Sun Tournament champions.

Tennis Match Results
#73 USC Upstate 4, Charlotte 3
 Singles competition 
1. Andrea Rivera (CHA) def. #112 Francisca Valderrama (UPSTW) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Ginny Redfern (CHA) def. Monica Pezzotti (UPSTW) 6-4, 6-3
3. #112 Simona Cacciuttolo (UPSTW) def. Gabi Vergara (CHA) 2-6, 6-0, 3-0, retired
4. Emilia Milovanovic (UPSTW) def. Candace Cunningham (CHA) 6-1, 6-2
5. Cinthya Lazaro (UPSTW) def. Iveta Guneva (CHA) 6-2, 6-3
6. Ana-Sofia Camberos (UPSTW) def. Anna Ekelund (CHA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
 Doubles competition 
1. Alexandria Zinn/Ana Spivakosky (CHA) def. Monica Pezzotti/
Francisca Valderrama (UPSTW) 9-8 (7-2)
2. Gabi Vergara/Anna Ekelund (CHA) def. Emilia Milovanovic/
Simona Cacciuttolo (UPSTW) 8-4
3. Ana-Sofia Camberos/Cinthya Lazaro (UPSTW) def. Andrea Rivera/
Candace Cunningham (CHA) 8-4
Match Notes:
USC Upstate 10-1; National ranking #73; Regional ranking #8
Charlotte 3-10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,3,6,5,2,1)