LEXINGTON, Va. – The visitors hopped right out of the gates in doubles, but Averett University women's tennis was outmatched in the singles portion, as the Cougars dropped its first ODAC tie of the season to No. 28 Washington and Lee University, 4-2 on Sunday evening.
Just like the men's team did earlier, Averett (10-4, 5-1 ODAC) seemed to have had Washington and Lee's (10-4, 6-0 ODAC) number in doubles to start off. The Generals took No. 1, then came the Cougars, winning at No. 3, then the partnership of
Brenda Poulakidas and
Ravaka Ramanantoanina came out on top versus Sarah Donnelly and Allie Murrell, 6-3.
Like déjà vu, Averett took a double point from Washington and Lee last spring at the ODAC championships, and marched on, only needing three wins out of six to seal the deal.
The might of the Generals' singles lineup quickly put the Cougars on the defensive end, taking the matches at No. 1, 3 and 4, to now be only a point away from winning.
Siddhi Khandelwal and nationally ranked Allie Murrell at No. 2 were gridlocked in a three-setter, and Khandelwal even went down a set. The sophomore grinded through, and pulled off easily her best win of the year, taking the final two sets by an identical 6-4 scoreline.
Just down a point at 3-2, it looked like momentum swung in Averett's favor, until Washington and Lee's Riho Iijima ended any comeback hopes with a 6-0, 6-1 deciding match over
Annika Kellerer to win the tie 4-2.
The Cougars return to conference tennis action the following Saturday, April 12, hosting Virginia Wesleyan University for a 10:30 p.m. start time.
