Harrogate, TN – Saturday marked the final home match of the fall for Lincoln Memorial University Women's Tennis, as the Railsplitters had a dominant showing against King University on Saturday in individual competition.  

The day started in singles play, as Lincoln Memorial would demolish the Tornado, taking a 6-2 advantage in the singles matches. Marta Melnichenok opened the day strong, dropping no sets to King in a clean 6-0, 6-0 sweep from the first position. Natalia Reimer followed in the second position with a two-set win, claiming 6-2 and 6-4 advantages over King.  

Mia Rodriguez ran away with the third match, allowing her opponent to claim just one point from her, sweeping the first set 6-0 before securing a 6-1 set-two win. Adriana Pellizzari would break out the brooms for the fourth match as well, allowing a point in the first set and no more, earning a 6-1, 6-0 sweep.  

Laura Nastrini would sweep her first set vs King, taking a 6-0 advantage early in the sixth singles match. King would make it closer in set two, but Nastrini would ultimately run away with a 6-2 set win and a clean sheet on the day. Maria Villanueva would finish the singles matches for the Splitters strong, taking a 6-0 win in the first set of the eighth position and a 6-1 second-set win for LMU's sixth sweep in singles action. 

Moving to the doubles courts, the Railsplitters would win eight of nine matches vs King on the day, including a clean sweep of the second round.  

From the first pairing, the duo of Melnichenok and Palud dropped just one point in two matches all day, earning a 6-1 win in the first round before sweeping King 6-0 in round two across the top pairing.  

Ortiz and Garcia Bucosa snagged a 6-3 win from the third doubles pairing of the first round to improve LMU to 2-1 in the first round, before Reimer and Nastrini swept away the final competition of round one 6-0. 

In round two, Garcia and Pellizzari picked up a second-position win 6-1 over their opponents, while Reimer and Ortiz paired up to deal a 6-2 third-positon win.  

The Splitters kept the pressure in the fourth pool, as Villanueva and Rodriguez would combine in their first doubles match of the day to earn a 6-1 win, before the pairing of Davanee Loayza and Nastrini finished the fall home slate with a 6-3 win.  

The Splitters hit the road this weekend, competing in their second fall match away from Harrogate as a part of the Palmetto Invitational starting on Friday in Sumter, South Carolina.  

RESULTS 

SINGLES

Marta Melnichenok def. Tayla Hunter-Geppert 6-0 6-0 

Natalia Reimer def. Shellby Tranchita 6-2 6-4 

Mia Rodriguez def. Alexandra Forcadell 6-0 6-1 

Adrianna Pellizzari def. Trinity Moore 6-1 6-0 

Mar Garcia Bucosa lost to Karla Ching 1-6 6-0 1-0 (4) 

Laura Nastrini def. Regina Castro 6-0 6-2 

Natalia Garcia lost to Sarah Hale 7-5 6-3 

Maria Villanueva def. Lilly Belcher 6-0 6-1 

DOUBLES 1

Marta Melnichenok/Lucie Palud def. Alexandra Forcadell/Shellby Tranchita 6-1 

Adrianna Pellizzari/Natalia Garcia lost to Tayla Hunter-Geppert/Trinity Moore 6-3 

Alexandra Ortiz/Mar Garcia Bucosa def. Regina Castro/Karla Ching 6-3 

Natalia Reimer/Laura Nastrini def. Lilly Belcher/Sarah Hale 6-0 

DOUBLES 2

Marta Melnichenok/Lucie Palud def. Tayla Hunter-Geppert/Trinity Moore 6-0 

Natalia Garcia/Adrianna Pellizzari def. Alexandra Forcadell/Shellby Tranchita 6-1 

Natalia Reimer/ Alexandra Ortiz def. Regina Castro/Karla Ching 6-2 

Maria Villanueva/Mia Rodriguez def. Lilly Belcher/Sarah Hale 6-1 

Davanee Loayza/Laura Nastrini def. Lilly Belcher/Sarah Hale 6-3