WOMEN'S TENNIS SWEEPS DOUBLES AND SINGLES COMPETITION AT COKER INVITATIONAL
Florence, SC - Women's tennis had another dominant showing at the Coker Invitational this weekend, capturing both the singles and doubles titles at the event.
Four Cobras (Jade Bellegy, Emerson Banning, Salome Sierra, and Ilona Hernandez-Sanchez) competed in the top flight of singles, with Bellegy, Banning, and Hernandez-Sanchez all making the semifinal. It was an all-Cobra final, with Banning defeating her teammate in Hernandez-Sanchez 6-3, 6-3 and Bellegy double-bageling Chowan's Sreshta Puducheri 6-0, 6-0 to both reach the championship round. This time, it was Banning finding herself on the winning end of the match-up, defeating Bellegy 6-4, 6-1 to claim the title. Hernandez-Sanchez continued the winning ways for the Cobras, defeating Puducheri 6-4, 6-1 in the third-place match.
In the second singles flight, two Cobras (Tamara Macias and Caroline Myers) competed. Macias made a run to the finals, defeating Chowan's Aime Vera 7-5, 6-0 and Benedict College's Patricia Wamba 6-1, 6-1 before falling in three sets in the final to Benedict College's Valerie Essome. After losing her first-round match-up in three sets, Myers went on a winning streak to win the back draw. She defeated Chowan's Selene Kentish 6-3, 6-2 and was up on Chowan's Vera 6-4 before her opponent retired to claim that win.
Coker's remaining two women (Rachel Grove and Olivia Drake) competed in the third flight, with Drake making a run to the final. She defeated Benedict College's Carmene Kpadonou 6-2, 6-2 and Chowan's Olivia Schoone 6-3, 6-4 before falling in the final to Benedict College's Tanatswa Musabaeka. Grove, after falling in round one, double-bageled Chowan's Bell Turner 6-0, 6-0 in a consolation match.
It was another dominant performance on the doubles side, with Bellegy and Banning winning the top flight. After defeating Essome and Kpadonou from Benedict College 7-5 in a close match, they took care of business against Chowan's Kentish and Vera 6-1 in the final to claim the title.
Banning and Bellegy were the lone Cobra pairing in the top flight, with the pairings of Macias/Hernandez-Sanchez, Sierra/Myers, and Grove/Drake all competing in the second flight. All three won their first-round matches to set up a semifinal in which three of the four pairings were Coker athletes. Sierra and Myers defeated Grove and Drake 6-0 to reach the final while Macias and Hernandez-Sanchez defeated Chowan's Puducheri and Schoone 6-2 to set up yet another all-Cobra final. The pairing of Macias and Hernandez-Sanchez triumphed in that match, defeating Myers and Sierra 6-1 to claim the title.
The Women's Tennis team will have one last fall showing, traveling to the Belmont Abbey Invitational on Thursday and Friday this week.