Bucs improve to 12-5 overall, 3-0 in SoCon play

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 26, 2023) – The ETSU women’s tennis team remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play with a win on Sunday at Samford, completing a 7-0 sweep of the Bulldogs in Birmingham.

The Bucs have won 10 straight matches over Samford since 2016 by a combined score of 57-4. ETSU improves to a 12-5 record on the season, including a perfect 3-0 record in conference matches. Samford falls to 9-5 overall and suffers its first conference loss of the campaign to drop to 1-1 in league matches.

The Bucs quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead with doubles wins in the top two flights. Maria Fernanda Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) and Daniela Rivera (Maturin, Venezuela) won 6-2 to start the match, followed by a 6-4 win at the top by Mariya Shumeika (Minsk, Belarus) and Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan).

The Bucs won all 12 singles sets to complete the sweep, starting with a 7-6, 6-1 win by Rivera at No. 5. The match was clinched with back-to-back wins in the top two spots, including a 6-4, 6-2 win by Shumeika at No.2 and then a 6-3, 6-4 win by Bakhodirova over Samford ace Alexis Lopez.

With the match in hand, Ralitsa Alexandrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) kept her winning streak alive with a 6-4, 6-2 win, then Carvajal earned a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3 singles. Wrapping up the match was Emilia Alfaro (Azul, Argentina) with a 6-2, 7-6 win to end it.

Bakhodirova not only extended her win streak to four matches, but also ended a six-match win streak for Lopez in the process. Meanwhile, Alexandrova and Rivera currently ride five-match win streaks in singles.

The Blue & Gold step away from conference play next weekend with matches against Charlotte and Middle Tennessee State. The Bucs will travel to the Queen City Friday, March 31 for a match at 1 p.m. The following Sunday, ETSU welcomes MTSU to the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex at 10 a.m. 

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