JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Staying unblemished in South Atlantic Conference play, the Lincoln Memorial University women's tennis team overcame a 1-0 deficit following doubles action and came back to defeat Carson-Newman 4-3 on the road Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Lady Railsplitters stumbled out of the gate as the host Eagles wasted no time in gaining the doubles point, handing LMU only its second doubles sweep of the season. However, the Lady Railsplitters rallied by taking four of the six singles matches, including all there matches at the second half of the lineup.
 
Claiming its 10th victory in 12 matches, LMU improves to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the SAC with the win, while Carson-Newman drops to 1-2 in league play and 5-4 overall.
 
The top two doubles spots proved to be the tightest with the Eagles pulling out 6-3 and 6-4 wins, respectively, after earning a 6-2 victory at third doubles.
 
Trailing 1-0 in the match, the Lady Railsplitters put the hammer down and took the first three singles matches in straight sets to crush the Carson-Newman momentum. Junior Julia Valls at No. 2 singles (7-6, 6-2), sophomore Claudia Rodriguez at No. 4 singles (6-1, 6-2) and junior Kristin Vogel at No. 6 singles (6-2, 6-1) all ran through their Eagle counterparts to give LMU a 3-1 lead. Then, sophomore Amanda Dahlstrom shut the door with a two-set win of her own at the fifth flight, 6-2, 6-2.
 
Carson-Newman earned victories in the final two matches to narrow the margin but the Lady Railsplitters survived behind their singles surge.
 
"It was really fun to watch Claudia and Krissy establish themselves early and then be all business," said head coach Marc Walters. "Claudia is managing her game wonderfully and her growth has been impressive."
 
Walters also had praise for Dahlstrom, with whom he had discussed the final scenario prior to starting singles play.
 
"Some players thrive in that situation and Amanda took it and ran with it today," commented coach Walters. "I told her two hours before she played that it was coming down to her court and she just nodded, smiled and said, 'let's go'. You have to love that response as a coach, win or lose."
 
Up Next…
The Lady Railsplitters head to Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday to face Queens University of Charlotte in a battle of conference unbeatens. First serve from the Howard Levine Tennis Center is slated for 11 a.m.
 
How to Follow
Stay tuned to LMURailsplitters.com, as well as LMU's social media platforms - @LMURailsplitter on Twitter, @LMURailsplitters on Facebook and @lmurailsplitters on Instagram, for complete coverage of Lady Railsplitter tennis throughout the 2019-2020 season.