ETSU women’s tennis to begin three-match home stand on Sunday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 31, 2023) – In a match that saw a rain delay and three competitive singles matches go unfinished, the ETSU women’s tennis team battled and fell short in a 4-0 loss to nationally-ranked Charlotte on Friday in the Queen City.

Though held without a point, ETSU gave the No. 39 ranked 49ers a run for their money. After Charlotte won the doubles point, the Bucs and 49ers began the first set of singles before Mother Nature had other plans and the match was halted momentarily due to rain.

Play resumed after an hour-or-so delay — and it was game on. Charlotte took No. 2 singles in a competitive 6-4, 6-3 match involving Lucia Quiterio and ETSU’s Mariya Shumeika (Minsk, Belarus), then went three sets to edge Emilia Alfaro (Azul, Argentina) at the No. 4 spot — a match where Alfaro won 6-3 in the second set to force extra tennis.

The other four matches were just as tight, as ETSU had a comeback bid cooking in all four matches. Unfortunately, it came to an end in the tightest possible way, as Maria Fernanda Carvajal (Queretaro, Mexico) took Margaux Maquet to the edge, but fell 7-6 (8-6), 7-5.

In the unfinished matches, Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) had a 7-5, 3-6, 4-1 lead at the No. 1 spot, Ralitsa Alexandrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) led 3-6, 6-2, 4-3 in the No. 6 spot and Daniela Rivera (Maturin, Venezuela) was down 3-2 in the third set after winning 7-5 and falling 6-2 in the first two sets.

ETSU opens a three-match home stand on Sunday, closing non-conference plat with a match against in-state rival Middle Tennessee State at 11 a.m. at the Dave Mullins Tennis Complex. 

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