March 6, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The Samford women's tennis team picked up their sixth win of the season Thursday afternoon as they took down Florida A&M six matches to one. The Bulldogs are now 6-2 on the season while the Lady Rattlers fall to 0-5.

The Bulldog women swept the doubles point with No. 3 duo Rebecca Kirven and Andrie Meiring finishing first in a sweeping 8-1 defeat of Lenice Boyd and Samaira Bailey. No. 2 tandem Lindsey Mallory and Taylor Morgan then clinched the point for the Bulldogs, defeating Sarah Brinkley and Latrece Olagbegi, 8-2. It came down to the wire at the No. 1 court, with Anna Jackson and Katie Weaver battling Rachel Pye and Alice Izomor for an 8-5 win to seal the doubles sweep.

In singles, Jackson fell to Pye at the No. 1 spot, 6-1, 7-6, but the rest of the Bulldogs defeated each of their opponents to give Samford the 6-1 win. Morgan defeated FAMU's No. 2 player, Izomor, 6-1, 6-4, while Kirven stepped in at the No. 3 position to beat Brinkley, 6-2, 6-4. Meiring, Weaver and Mallory then wrapped up the match with wins at courts four, five and six, respectively.

The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, March 8, as they join the men in opening Ohio Valley Conference play at home. The Bulldogs will take on Tennessee-Martin, which has proved to be a bitter rival for the Bulldog women in the past years. The last time the Bulldogs and Skyhawks met was in the semi-finals of the OVC Tournament last season. A win in that match advanced Samford to the championship finals.

Match play between the Bulldogs and Skyhawks is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday at Samford's Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion.

Samford 6, FAMU 1

Doubles
No. 1 Jackson/Weaver (SAM) def. Pye/Izomor (FAMU), 8-5
No. 2 Mallory/Morgan (SAM) def. Brinkley/Olagbegi (FAMU), 8-2
No. 3 Kirven/Meiring (SAM) def. Boyd/Bailey (FAMU), 8-1

Singles
No. 1 Rachel Pye (FAMU) def. Anna Jackson (SAM), 6-1, 7-6
No. 2 Taylor Morgan (SAM) def. Alice Izomor (FAMU), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 Rebecca Kirven (SAM) def. Sarah Brinkley (FAMU), 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Andrie Meiring (SAM) def. Latrece Olagbegi (FAMU). 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Katie Weaver (SAM) def. Lenice Boyd (FAMU), 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 Lindsey Mallory (SAM) def. Samaria Bailey, 6-1, 6-0