The ETSU women’s tennis team spent three days traveling through North Carolina this weekend with their first match against Davidson on Friday, March 18.
The Bucs started the match competitively in doubles winning at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, but all faced tough opposition in singles with each player overcome by their Wildcat opponents.
Unable to pick up any wins in singles, the Bucs suffered their first SoCon loss of the season, with their conference record now 4-1.
Proving they could bounce back from a tough loss, however, the Bucs picked up a victory against UNC Charlotte, beginning by winning the doubles point with wins a the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
Muriel Sherwood enjoyed a convincing win over her opponent at No.6 and was the first off the court dropping only one game in the entire match. Olya Batsula followed with a 6-1 6-3 victory at No. 5, while Masha Ilina clinched the win for the Bucs with a 7-5 6-0 victory at No. 2 Elena Volobueva won the fourth singles match of the day in a third set super tiebreaker, helping the Bucs to a 5-2 victory over Charlotte.
Sunday, the Bucs headed to Gardner Webb for their third match of the weekend, where they played in windy conditions but remained strong for a 7-0 win. While No. 2 and No. 3 doubles gained decisive wins over their opponents, the No.1 pair of Ilina and Ziolowska remained on serve for the first half of the match, before breaking for a lead of 5-4 and winning four straight games for the match.
The Bucs then dominated in singles with straight set wins at five of the six singles matches. Volebueva clinched the match with a 6-1 6-0 win at No. 3, while Sherwood won the ninth match for the day battling to win in a close third set super tiebreaker. The win boosts the Bucs’ overall record to 13-4.
The Bucs now have time to rest up and work on specific areas of their games in preparation for the rest of the season. The team will travel to Tennessee Tech for their next match on Tuesday, March 29, and finish at home.

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