HAMPTON, Va. – UNCW women's tennis earned its fourth straight win and third consecutive shutout with a 7-0 victory in the regular season finale against Hampton in Coastal Athletic Association action at Neilson-Screen Tennis Stadium on Friday.
The Seahawks finished the regular season 9-6 overall and 6-2 in the CAA, while Hampton fell to 9-9 and 1-3 in the league. UNCW's six conference wins in the regular season are the most in a single season since at least 2006-07.
"We were feeling the team energy out there today, " Head Coach Hans Olsen said. "Each member of this team is making a difference every time we compete. Positive Seahawk vibe all day today. Go Hawks!"
Eda Arli and Elif Albayrak earned their seventh win of the season in No. 1 doubles, posting their second shutout of the season with a 6-0 win against Diana Starodubtseva and Serena Bryan.
On court three, Lucia Gomez and Anna Parker Shumate earned their eighth win of the season, clinching the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Melis Sakiroglu and Jewel Aston-Greene. The pairing extended their win streak to a team-best six in doubles play.
In No. 2 doubles, Stela Joksimovic and Alicia Eberwein won their team-high 10th overall match and recorded their fourth straight win, outlasting Masa Mitic and Meiri Okuwaki 7-5.
Katelyn Hubbard continued her hot streak with her fourth straight win in No. 6 singles, defeating Aston-Greene, 6-0, 6-1.
Arli won her fourth straight match in No. 1 singles to improve to 8-5 on the season. The junior increased the UNCW lead to 3-0 with a comfortable 6-3, 6-2 decision against Starodubtseva to move to 5-2 in CAA matches.
Joksimovic won her third straight and clinched the match for the Seahawks with a 6-1, 6-3 win in No. 2 singles against Okuwaki. The senior improved to 8-6 on the season and 5-2 in CAA competition.
Albayrak, Gomez, and Alex Borcich each earned their team-leading 10th singles victories of the season.
Albayrak gave the Seahawks a 5-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-3 win in No. 3 singles against Bryan. She extended her win streak to six and tallied her team-high seventh CAA win of the season, improving to 7-1 in conference matches.
Gomez followed with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph on court four over Sakiroglu to move to 10-4 on the year and 5-2 in the CAA.
Borcich preserved the shutout with a gutsy comeback victory against Mitic in No. 5 singles. After Mitic claimed the first set 6-3, Borcich stormed back to take the second set, 6-2. In the winner-take-all 10-point tiebreaker, Borcich prevailed 10-5 for her fourth straight win to improve to 10-3 overall.
The Seahawks will wait to hear their name called by the CAA's seeding committee on Monday or Tuesday. The top six teams will compete for the CAA Championship in Elon, N.C. at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center from April 25-27.
