Southern Miss
Charlotte
Women's Tennis Close 2018 Season At C-USA Championships
4/19/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
NORFOLK, Va. - The No. 8 seed Southern Miss Women's Tennis team fell 4-2 to the No. 9 seed Charlotte in the opening round of the Conference USA Championships on Thursday morning.
Southern Miss fought back from a 2-0 deficit after dropping the doubles point on courts 2 and 3. Heading into Thursday's match, Lara Isis De Oliveira and Elena Roca were 7-0 at No. 2. The pair dropped the decision 6-1 as did doubles partners Anastasia Cobanovic and Tanit Lopez Lopez at No. 3 to give Charlotte the 1-0 lead into singles play.
Lopez had her four-match win streak snapped at No. 3 with a 6-3, 6-3 loss. Lopez ends her first season with the Golden Eagles with an 8-11 singles record.
Southern Miss began the comeback when freshman Arina Amaning defeated Tai Martin 7-5, 6-2 at No. 1. The freshman picked up steam late in the season and finished her freshman campaign with a 10-9 record. Amaning competed all 19 matches at No.1.
Tjasa Jerse completed her own come back after dropping the first set 6-1 but came back to win the final two sets 6-2, 6-1. Jerse concluded her season with a 12-match win streak and an 18-2 overall record. Jerse now finished back-to-back seasons with an 18-2 record in singles play.
Jerse's win tied the match at 2 and the seniors, Elena Roca and Claudia Castella, had the deciding matches in Thursday's match. Elena Roca's perfect 17-0 season ended with a 7-6, 7-6 finish at No. 5 against the 49ers. The senior ended her career at Southern Miss with 71 overall singles wins, second in Southern Miss history.
Charlotte won the match at No. 6 when Claudia Castella dropped her final match as a Golden Eagles. Castella lost 7-6 (7-5), 6-7, 6-4. Castella finished the season with a 10-5 record.
The Golden Eagles conclude the season with 18-6 record, the most wins in the last six years.
