Women’s tennis edges Mars Hill; men lay goose egg in shutout
Posted by The Skyliner on April 8th, 2009
Paul Conner
Staff Writer
The women’s tennis team defeated Mars Hill 5-4 overall, 1-2 in doubles and 4-2 in singles, at the Greer Tennis Center Friday afternoon to improve to 5-3 on the season. Cassie Curtis fought back from a 5-3 first-set deficit at number five to win the determining singles match 7-5, 6-1.
The Lions (3-6) brought only five players from North Carolina, resulting in one singles forfeit and one doubles forfeit.
The men’s team turned in a poor performance against Mars Hill, falling 0-9 overall, 0-3 in doubles and 0-6 in singles, to the Lions, who are ranked in the top 40 teams in NCAA Division II.
Crusaders coach Mark Elliot, usually generous in his assessments, was unhappy with the team’s energy on the court after the match.
“We laid an egg,” Elliot said. “We were lifeless out there; we had no energy, and we just played flat.”
The Crusaders had played only one competitive match since March 6 coming into the game. Matches against Limestone, Piedmont and Emmanuel were cancelled or postponed because of recent rain.
“I would like to blame the rain for the way we played today, but I’m pretty sure it rained in North Carolina as well,” Elliot said. “We were all in the same boat.”
Timor Kamilov, freshman undecided, who fell 6-0, 6-1, at number one singles, admitted the team’s struggles. North Greenville fell to 3-7, and Mars Hill improved to 5-3.
“I played so bad today,” Kamilov said. “As a team, we weren’t on our game today. Next time.”
On the women’s side, number one doubles Salem Erni, junior interdisciplinary studies, and Katherine Shaw, freshman undecided, fell 7-9, and the sister tandem of Cassie and Cherie Curtis, freshman secondary education and senior elementary education, lost 6-8 at number two.
Erni fell 0-6, 1-6 at number one singles, and Shaw forced a third set but lost 3-6, 6-4, 3-10. Cherie Curtis defeated her opponent 6-2, 6-3, and Courtney Lynn, senior psychology, won 6-0, 6-1, setting up Cassie Curtis’ tie-breaking victory.
“It’s been tough because we haven’t had games because of the rain,” said the younger Curtis.
Curtis, in her first season for the Lady Crusaders, has joined a team that is emerging as a solid contender in NCAA Division II.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time here [at North Greenville] so far. The girls are awesome, and Coach Elliot always keeps things interesting. He’s always there to give me the information I need when I’m down.”
If none of the cancelled matches are rescheduled, the team is three matches away from possibly qualifying for the NCCAA National Tournament May 4-7 in Marion, Ind.
North Greenville will host Lincoln Memorial at 3 p.m. at the Greer Tennis Center Friday in their penultimate home match of the season.