MACON, Ga. (April 18, 2019) – The ETSU women’s tennis team cruised past No. 7 Western Carolina on Thursday morning during the quarterfinal round at the John Drew Smith Tennis Center in Macon, Ga.

The Bucs will play in the semifinals on Friday, April 19 at 10:00 a.m. against No. 3 Wofford.

Western Carolina’s pair of Savannah Taranto and Jordan Strickland defeated Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Alejandra Morales (Santiago, Chile) 6-1 at the No. 1 spot. ETSU would bounce back with back-to-back wins to clinch the doubles point. Raquel Amaro (Caracas, Venezuela) and Yi Chi Ma (Kaohsiung, Taiwan) won 6-4 over Carli Deehr and Julia Pezzuco. Clinching the point for the Bucs was Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basauri, Spain) and Yunuen Elizarraras (Cuernavaca, Mexico) with a 6-4 win over Lauren McCall and Alexa Webb.

ETSU carried their momentum into singles action after Morales picked up her 11^th win of the season with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Taranto. Elizarraras put the Bucs ahead 3-0 after she defeated Julia Pezzuco 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot. Freshman Bakhodirova would clinch the match for the Bucs after she won 7-5, 6-0 over Strickland at the No. 1 spot. Yi Chi Ma also earned a 6-2, 6-2 win over Deehr at the same time Bakhodirova finished.

ETSU moves to 12-10 on the year, while Western Carolina ends their season with a 12-10 record. The Bucs will face No. 3 Wofford in the semifinals. Earlier in the season, ETSU defeated Wofford 6-1.

Singles competition

1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSUW) def. Jordan Strickland (WCU) 7-5, 6-0
2. Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) def. Savannah Taranto (WCU) 6-3, 6-1
3. A. Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSUW) vs. Lauren McCall (WCU) 6-3, 2-4, unfinished
4. Raquel Amaro (ETSUW) vs. Alexa Webb (WCU) 6-2, 5-4, unfinished
5. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSUW) def. Julia Pezzuco (WCU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) def. Carli Deehr (WCU) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Savannah Taranto/Jordan Strickland (WCU) def. Laylo Bakhodirova/Alejandra Morales (ETSUW) 6-1
2. Raquel Amaro/Yi Chi Ma (ETSUW) def. Carli Deehr/Julia Pezzuco (WCU) 6-4
3. A. Pascual-Larrinaga/Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSUW) def. Lauren McCall/Alexa Webb (WCU) 6-4

Match Notes: Western Carolina 12-10 ETSU 12-10 Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,5,1,6)

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For more information on Buccaneer women’s tennis visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s tennis page.