DANVILLE, Va. — No. 46 Averett University women's tennis put in a dominant performance to take down No. 49 Sweet Briar College in a key Old Dominion Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Averett Tennis Courts.
Averett (13-4, 9-0 ODAC) ranked No. 10 in the region, picked up its second win over a nationally ranked program this season by snapping the 11-match win streak Sweet Briar (17-2, 8-1 ODAC) had entering the day.
The Cougars first for an 8-3 win at No. 3 doubles from sophomore
Elisa Battermann and freshman
Dilara Sultanova, and the duo of sophomore
Brenda Poulakidas and freshman
Jennika Jaison won 8-4 at No. 2 doubles. Averett swept doubles thanks to a huge win at No. 1 from junior
Keira Gunning and freshman
Siddhi Khandelwal. The tandem, ranked No. 8 in the region in doubles, held off Sweet Briar's Ana Patino and Alex Guilarte 8-7 (7-5).
Khandelwal earned a 6-1, 6-0, win at No. 2 singles, followed by sophomore
Harshri Asher's 6-0, 6-1, win at No. 6 singles to clinch the match. Jaison, ranked No. 10 in the region in singles, also won at No. 1 in straight sets, 6-2, 7-7. Additionally, the Cougars got straight-set wins from Gunning at No. 3 and Sultanova at No. 4. The Vixens' only point came at No. 5 singles thanks to a victory in a super tiebreak.
The victory sets up a likely showdown for the ODAC's top seed entering the conference tournament. Averett hosts No. 26 Washington and Lee University on Monday. The Generals remain 8-0 in conference play but face Sweet Briar in a rescheduled match from earlier in the month on Sunday before taking on the Cougars.
