HICKORY, N.C. – The Lady Railsplitters (3-2, 0-2 SAC) battled hard but fell to 0-2 in South Atlantic Conference play on Saturday, falling to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (4-3, 1-1 SAC) by a final of 5-4 in Hickory, N.C. With Saturday's loss, the Lady Railsplitters dropped their first ever match to the Bears, slipping to 7-1 in the all-time series.
 
Elena Vasilyeva (Yaroslavl, Russia) and Gemma Goodland (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) kicked off the afternoon with an impressive 8-0 showing in the top flight, managing to shut out the Bears' top tandem of Dominique Bruce and Lucy Stofberg. After and 8-0 loss by LMU's No. 2 tandem of Angelica Solano (Bogota, Colombia) and Summer Robinson (Midway, Tenn.), the Lady Railsplitters rebounded in the third and final flight as Priscilla Bulandres (Markham, Ontario, Canada) and Roksolana Prudyvus (Lviv, Ukraine) handed Jessica Rumple and Amanda Bryan an 8-5 defeat to give Lincoln Memorial a 2-1 edge heading into singles play.
 
In singles action, Vasilyeva improved to 2-0 in the conference on the season as the Yaroslavl, Russia native claimed a 6-2, 7-5 win over Zorica Djuric at No. 1 singles. Following Vasilyeva's opening flight win the Bears managed to roll off three straight wins at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 as LMU's Gemma Goodland, Giovanna Lombardi (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Prudyvus were handed losses on the afternoon. Lincoln Memorial's Angelica Solano picked up the fifth and deciding point of the contest as the Bogota, Colombia native played her way to a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles on the afternoon.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will get a brief evening of rest before they are called back into duty tomorrow, as they prepare to tangle with the Coker College Cobras with doubles action scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. in Hartsville, S.C.
 

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Lenoir-Rhyne 5, Lincoln Memorial 4
Mar 15, 2015 at Hickory, NC (Hickory High School)
 
Singles competition

1. Elena Vasilyeva (LMU) def. Zorica Djuric (LR) 6-2, 7-5

2. Dominique Bruce (LR) def. Gemma Goodland (LMU) 6-1, 6-4

3. Lucy Stofberg (LR) def. Giovanna Lombardi (LMU) 6-3, 6-0

4. Lela Sparks Thompson (LR) def. Roksolana Prudyvus (LMU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

5. Angelica Solano (LMU) def. Jessica Rumple (LR) 6-2, 6-1

6. Maggie Brown (LR) def. Summer Robinson (LMU) 6-1, 6-2

 

Doubles competition 1. Elena Vasilyeva/Gemma Goodland (LMU) def. Dominique Bruce/Lucy Stofberg (LR) 8-0

2. Zorica Djuric/Lela Sparks Thompson (LR) def. Angelica Solano/Summer Robinson (LMU) 8-0

3. Priscilla Bulandres/Roksolana Prudyvus (LMU) def. Jessica Rumple/Amanda Bryan (LR) 8-5

 

Match Notes Lincoln Memorial 3-2, 1-1 SAC

Lenoir-Rhyne 4-3, 1-1 SAC