FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – The Guilford College women's tennis team (3-2, 0-0 ODAC) faced a narrow 4-3 defeat against Methodist University (2-0, 0-0 USA South) on Sunday afternoon at the Gene Clayton Tennis Center.
Guilford opened the match with a statement, sweeping all three doubles flights to secure the opening point. The No. 1 duo of
Carolina Dirk (Port Aransas, TX) and
Erika Mendez (Asheville, N.C.) set the pace with a 6-4 victory over Emma Hulicki and Shea Bieniek. At the No. 2 spot,
Ashley Belnap (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and
Chandler Sizemore (Sandy Ridge, N.C.) cruised to a 6-2 win, while
McKenna Merritt (Dobson, N.C.) and
Brooke Tsuei (Summerfield, N.C.) completed the sweep at No. 3 with a 6-4 result.
The momentum continued into the top of the singles lineup as Dirk remained perfect on the weekend, facing Hulicki at the No. 1 flight, surrendering only three games in a 6-0, 6-3 masterclass.
At the No. 6 position, Tsuei displayed incredible grit in a three-set marathon; after dropping the first set, she battled back to take the second 6-1 and dominated the deciding tiebreaker 10-4 to earn another point for the Quakers.
Belnap, Sizemore, Merritt, and
Amy Soto Salgado (Conover, N.C.) all put up determined efforts in their respective singles matches against a deep Methodist lineup.
The Quakers return to the Ragsdale courts on Sunday, March 8th, for their Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener against Averett University. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
#GoQuakes
