SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's tennis
team began its spring season with a hard-fought battle against the USC Upstate
Spartans on Saturday morning but fell short, 5-2.
PC opens the season at 0-1 while USC Upstate improves to
1-0.
Freshman Caroline deLoach (Columbia, S.C.) began her Blue
Hose career on a high note, winning her singles and doubles matches with
partner Lindsay Krause (Roswell, Ga.). deLoach took a fifth-flight singles match from
Ana-Sofia Camberos in thrilling fashion, winning the first set, 7-6, before
falling in the second, 6-1. In the third, the freshman battled to a 10-8
tiebreaker win to seal the victory.
Senior Cara Caruso (Roswell, Ga.) also earned a singles win
at the third flight. Caruso cruised over Hannah Al-Sakati, 6-3, 6-1, to begin
the year with a victory.
Freshman Greer Ransom (Athens, Ga.) also came out strong in a marathon
defeat at No. 2. Ransom took the first set from Upstate's Julie Bell, 6-2,
before coming up short in the second, 7-5. Ransom battled in the final set but ended
up on the losing end of a 10-4 tiebreaker.
In other singles action, Paige Oelke (Athens, Ga.) dropped a
shortened match to Isabel von Stryk, 3-2, and Patricia Alves (Campinas, Brazil)
fell at the fourth flight to Talia Rojas, 6-4, 6-3. Lucia Leahy (Charlotte,
N.C.) also stumbled at the sixth flight to Maria Tonani, 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles play, deLoach and Krause knocked off Tonani and
Al-Sakati in a close contest, 8-6. Unfortunately for the Blue Hose, the
visitors could not grab the singles point as Oelke and Ransom fell to Rojas and
von Stryk, 8-2, and Caruso and Alves dropped their match to Bell and Camberos,
8-4.
PC returns to action on Saturday, February 4 when the squad
hosts Georgia Southern in the team's home opener.