April 7, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State women's tennis team recorded its second Atlantic Sun Conference victory Monday, downing Lipscomb 6-1 in front of a raucous crowd at the KSU Tennis Complex.

The Owls (6-11, 2-8) got things off on the right foot in the makeup of a March rainout, taking the lead and never looking back by winning the doubles point. The team continued its dominance when taking the early lead, moving its record to 6-0 when winning the doubles match.

"I am proud of the way our team handled these past three days," said Kennesaw State head coach Brandon Padgett on his team's win. "Doubles was better today than it has been in a long time, and I hope that pattern continues throughout the rest of the week."

Caroline Page and Karen Ammann took down Claire Landry and Raphaela Jann 8-4 at No. 2. Ayano Tanaka and Allison Baulis, who were paired together for the first time at No. 3, sealed the early lead with an 8-2 defeat of Britt Kuertz and Caitlin Khouri.

The Owls duo of Lindsay Dillon and Agatha Palider couldn't close out the doubles sweep, falling 8-7 (7-3) in a tiebreaker to Olivia Ellis and Kara Jackson.

Palider helped bolster the Owls lead with a quick 6-3, 6-1 over Jackson at No. 2 singles. Palider, who began the match up a set because of the previous rainout, quickly handled Jackson to put KSU up 2-0. Paula Takara followed suit, downing Khouri 6-1, 6-0 in a third position sweep to put the Owls up 3-0.

Landry handed Baulis her ninth-straight loss at No. 5 singles, dropping the Owls freshman 6-1, 6-3 to give Lipscomb (0-14, 0-9) a breath of life.

Ammann quickly extinguished the Bisons hopes, taking the No. 4 match 6-2, 6-0 from Ellis to seal the Owls win. The win snapped a three-match losing streak for the senior from Cape Town, South Africa.

In the final match on the courts, Tanaka proved that her injured leg was feeling better, outlasting Jann at No. 1. Jann worked her way back into the match after starting a set down, taking Tanaka 7-6 in the second. Cheered on by the loud crowd, the Owls freshmen ran her A-Sun record at the top singles spot to 4-3 by taking the third and final set 7-0 in a tiebreak.

The Black and Gold will wrap up their A-Sun schedule when the Mercer Bears come to town on Wednesday, April 9 at 3 p.m. The season will conclude with a home match on Saturday, April 12 against North Carolina Central at 2 p.m. that will be precluded by a senior day ceremony.


Kennesaw State 6, Lipscomb 1

Doubles

1. O. Ellis/K. Jackson def. A. Palider/L. Dillon (KSU) 8-7 (7-3)
2. Page/Ammann (KSU) def. Landry/Jann 8-4
3. Tanaka/Baulis (KSU) def. Kuertz/Khouri 8-2

Singles
1. Ayano Tanaka (KSU) def. Raphaela Jann 6-1, 7-6 (7-0)
2. Agatha Palider (KSU) def. Kara Jackson 6-3, 6-1
3. Paula Takara (KSU) def. Caitlin Khouri 6-1, 6-0
4. Karen Ammann (KSU) def. Olivia Ellis 6-2, 6-0
5. Claire Landry ( def. Allison Baulis (KSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Caroline Page (KSU) def. Britt Kuertz 6-0, 6-1