Chattanooga, Tenn. —- The Catawba College Men and Women's Tennis teams took on the Young Harris Mountain Lions in their day two matchup at the Scenic City College Tennis Spring Tournament, with the men dropping a 4-1 contest while the women captured a down-to-the-wire victory, 4-3. The men's team now sits at 3-5 on the season, with the women at 7-2
HOW IT HAPPENED – Catawba Women 4 / Young Harris Women 3
- Catawba's women took the Doubles point by a 2-1 margin to take the early lead. Ami Miya and Rin Igarashi defeated Meghna Mallath and Simone Mercier 6-4 on the No. 1 court, followed by No. 2 pairing Sofia Hernandez Mera and Veronika Poliakova taking down Holly Ashford and Catarina Ferreira 6-3
- Tina Gomes and Nika Dundovic took on Luciana Bejarano and Viviana Gomez from the No. 3 position, with the Young Harris duo able to prevent the sweep with a 6-0 win
- Miya and Mercier went back-and-forth in Singles action on Court No. 1, battling over three sets. Mercier took the opening frame 6-4, only for Miya to bounce back strong with a 6-0 win. It would be Mercier earned the point for Young Harris however, taking the win in the third set
- Isidora Zivkovic rolled to a win over Bejarano on Court No. 2, earning Catawba's second point of the day with a pair of 6-2 set wins. It was Zivkovic's sixth straight victory, as she improved to 8-1 in her first season at Catawba
- Vaishnavi Ventakesh took her first loss of the season in Singles, dropping to 4-1 after being defeated 6-2, 6-3 by Gomez on Court No. 3
- Poliakova would also be defeated on Court No. 4, with Mallath putting Young Harris ahead 3-2 after a two-set victory, 6-3 and 6-4
- Igarashi would be able to knock off Ashford from the No. 5 position, rolling to a 6-1 victory in the first set and clinching a vital point for Catawba in a 7-6 thriller in the second frame. With the win, Igarashi now moves to 4-1 on the season
- It came down to Hernandez Mera and Ferreira on the No. 6 court with the score tied at 3-3, and the two did not disappoint. Hernandez Mera would take the first set 6-4, only for Ferreira to battle back with a 6-3 win in the second. With everything on the line, it would be Hernandez Mera who emerged victorious, now an undefeated 8-0 on the season as Catawba earned a 4-3 triumph
HOW IT HAPPENED – Catawba Men 1 / Young Harris Men 4
- Catawba would be edged out 2-1 in the Doubles point, as it went down to the final court. Edoardo Cecere and Ryan Little picked up a thrilling 7-6 win on the No. 1 court, with the pair remaining undefeated with a now 7-0 record this season
- Paul Dekester and Tyler Juergens would be defeated 6-1 from the No. 2 position by Young Harris' Rodrigo Mendoza and Caleb McCurry. Sebastian Zabala and Taketoshi Nanao battled against Jamie Bixby and Hemang Guar on Court No. 3, though it would be the Young Harris duo that clinched the Doubles point with a 6-4 win
- Cecere was excellent on Court No. 1 as he led Catawba in Singles action, taking Bixby down 6-1 and 6-2 to give Catawba its first point and personally move to 5-3 overall
- Alessando Valletta took on Mendoza from the No. 2 position, with Mendoza pulling out the win by scores of 6-1 and 7-5
- Juergens and McCurry dueled in a close matchup on Court No. 3 that would last for three sets. McCurry took a tight first set, 7-5, before Juergens battled back with a 6-3 win to force a third frame. In the end it would be McCurry who pulled out the win in the final set, giving Young Harris a 3-1 lead
- Zabala competed from the No. 5 position against Eric Del Valle, with Del Valle taking the match in two sets, 6-1 and 6-0 as the Mountain Lions clinched the win with a final score of 4-1
- The Catawba College Tennis teams will return home to Salisbury for a day of rest before jumping right back into action on Friday, welcoming the Carson-Newman Eagles to the Catawba Tennis Courts in a return to South Atlantic Conference action
