JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (March 10, 2021) — The ETSU Women’s Tennis team opened up Southern Conference play on Wednesday afternoon at the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex with a dominant win over Mercer. The Bucs took down the Bears 6-1 using five straight-set singles victories.  

The Bucs worked quickly in double action and won all three matches. Maria Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) and Andrea Pascual-Larrinaga (Basaura, Spain) started the Bucs’ success with a 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles. Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Emilia Alfaro (Azul, Argentina) matched their teammate’s score at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for ETSU. At the top doubles spot, Alejandra Morales and Mayya Gorbunova secured the sweep for the Blue and Gold with a score of 6-3.

Alfaro doubled the Bucs’ lead at No. 4 singles with a 6-1, 6-0 victory. After Mercer picked up its lone point of the match at No. 2, Yunuen Elizarraras (Cuernavaca, Mexico) moved the Bucs within a point of clinching the match. The Cuernavaca, Mexico native won both sets 6-2 at the final singles position.

The match was clinched at the top spot as Bakhodirova got back to her winning ways, defeating her opponent, 6-3, 6-2. Carvajal (6-4, 6-3) and Pascual-Larrinaga (6-4, 6-2) closed out the match for at No. 3 and No. 5 singles.

ETSU has now won three straight SoCon openers and have won nine straight home matches. The Bucs improve to 6-7 (1-0 SoCon), while Mercer falls to 4-3 (1-0).

The Blue and Gold are back in action next Wednesday as they travel to Florida to face Florida International.

Singles Competition
1. Laylo Bakhodirova (ETSU) def. Maeva Roquebert (MER) 6-3, 6-2
2. Alara Hollyfield (MER) def. Alejandra Morales (ETSU) 6-1, 6-4
3. A Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU) def. Mary Courville (MER) 6-4, 6-2
4. Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) def. Lauren Rich (MER) 6-1, 6-0
5. Maria Carvajal (ETSU) def. Lekha Varudandi (MER) 6-4, 6-3
6. Yunuen Elizarraras (ETSU) def. Kristin Yordanova (MER) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Competition
1. Alejandra Morales/Mayya Gorbunova (ETSU) def. Maeva Roquebert/Mary Courville (MER) 6-3
2. Laylo Bakhodirova/Emilia Alfaro (ETSU) def. Lekha Varudandi/Alara Hollyfield (MER) 6-0
3. Maria Carvajal/A Pascual-Larrinaga (ETSU) def. Ericka Chavarria/Lauren Rich (MER) 6-0

Match Notes:
Mercer University 4-3, 0-1 SoCon
ETSU 6-7, 1-0 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,2,6,1,3,5) T-2:12