ANDERSON, S.C. - After No. 8 Columbus State earned a 3-0 lead following the doubles round, the Cougars captured all six singles matches, as Anderson University women's tennis was blanked, 9-0, Thursday afternoon at Max Grubbs Memorial Courts.
The setback was the Trojans' first of the season, as they fall to 4-1 on the year after winning their first four matches of the season for the first time in recorded program history. With the win, the visitors improve to 2-0 on the young season.
In the doubles round, CSU's Beatriz Leon and Giorgia Vitale defeated Anderson's duo of Ivey Welborn and Rebecca Bruning, 8-3, at the No. 1 position. The Cougars added to their lead at No. 2, as Camila Tobar and Kirsa Utech knocked off AU's Maired Cleary and Lindsay Gregory, 8-1, while Elena Preadca and Olivera Tadijin fended off Alexandra Ebner and Abigail Gregory at the No. 3 position, 8-4.
As the teams closed the doubles portion, Ebner was the only Trojan to send their match to three sets in singles, as the junior won the second set at No. 4, 6-2. With the match even at 1-1, Ebner dropped her tiebreak to counterpart, Tadijin, 10-5, in the final set, as Columbus State sealed the 9-0 win with six singles wins.
Anderson remains home on Saturday when it hosts South Atlantic Conference foe Catawba. First serve from Max Grubbs Memorial Courts is scheduled for 1 p.m.
