MOBILE, Ala. – The Tuskegee women's tennis team opened day one of the second Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Round-Up with a hard-fought split at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center on Wednesday.
After narrowly falling to Albany State 4-3 in the morning match, the Golden Tigers bounced back in commanding fashion with a dominant 6-1 win over Edward Waters to close the day.
Tuskegee now sits at 10-5 overall and 9-1 in conference play.
Albany State 4, Tuskegee 3
In the morning session, Tuskegee dropped a tight contest against Albany State that came down to the final singles court.
The Golden Tigers started slowly in doubles action. The pairing of
Tanyaradzwa Kaome and
Leiloni Payton fell 6-3 to ASU's top duo, while on court two,
Devynn Jackson and
Gabrielle Blanks were edged in a back-and-forth match, falling 7-6.
Meanwhile, the third court saw
Taylor Ford and
Gabrielle Geary roll to a 6-0 win over the final doubles pairing,
The teams split singles matches, as Albany State earned three wins in singles to take control of the match. Kaome was the first to fall in the No. 1 spot, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Blanks and Payton took care of business at the No. 2 and No. 3 spot respectively, with Blanks winning 7-6, 6-2 and Payton winning 6-0, 6-1.
Down the stretch, Chloe Griffin Harrington stepped up at No. 6 and delivered a commanding 6-0, 6-0 sweep, but Albany State clinched the match with four wins, handing the Golden Tigers their first SIAC loss of the year.
Tuskegee 6, Edward Waters 1
Tuskegee rebounded quickly in the afternoon with a dominant showing over Edward Waters.
The Golden Tigers swept doubles play to secure the early 1-0 lead. Kaome and Payton again led the charge with a 7-5 win over Alexis and Perez.
Jackson and Blanks cruised to a 6-1 win on court two, while Ford and Geary shut out their opponents 6-0 at No. 3.
The dominance continued into singles action. Kaome set the tone with a 6-2, 6-0 win in the No. 1 spot, before by Blanks fell in a close 4-6, 6-4, 10-6 match on court two for Edward Waters' lone point.
Tuskegee then took control across the rest of the lineup.
Payton and Jackson both overwhelmed their pairings with 6-0, 6-0 wins at No. 3 and No. 4, while Ford posted a strong 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5.
Harrington continued her stellar play, picking up her second sweep of the day with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout at No. 6.
Harrington went a perfect 2-0 on the day in both singles and doubles, not dropping a single game in her individual matches.
Payton also went undefeated in singles, playing a pivotal role in Tuskegee's rebound win.
Up Next
Tuskegee will return to action tomorrow for the second day of the SIAC Round-Up with matches against Benedict and Savannah State on Thursday at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center.
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