Results

MOBILE, Ala. – Freshman Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) helped win the doubles point and lost just one game in singles to lead the University of South Alabama women's tennis team to a 7-0 win over Samford Saturday afternoon at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.

The Jaguars, ranked No. 39 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, extend their win streak to four and go to 14-4 on the season. The Bulldogs fall to 5-8.

"I thought it was a very solid match," USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. "Doubles was pretty scrappy – I thought we played better doubles than last week – and that was one of our better singles performances so far."

Stiteler paired with senior Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) at No. 2 doubles for a 6-4 win, then wasted little time in taking care of Jessica Northcutt at No. 1 singles in a 6-0, 6-1 victory.

The singles win was her 14th in a row; she is currently 14-1 this spring and ranked No. 47 in the nation.

"Her, or whoever can put some points on the scoreboard and create that scoreboard pressure, that's what the good teams do and it's good to see us doing that," Keyser said.

The Jags needed a rally and a tiebreaker at No. 3 doubles to clinch the point. The Bulldogs knotted it up at 1-1 with a 6-4 victory at No. 1, before junior Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and freshman Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) saw a 5-3 lead disappear and had to win trailing 6-5 to force a tiebreaker. Matuskova and Zolotareva eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-3).

"They always have good doubles. We played them in the fall and lost the doubles point against them," Keyser said. "There were plenty of momentum swings, but it was good to see us stay the course and squeeze out that doubles point."

Stiteler put USA up 2-0, and the Jaguars clinched the match on courts 6 and 2, losing just five total games. Zolotareva defeated Annika Hepp 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6, and junior Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia) downed Carita Moolman 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2.

"I'm very happy with our singles," Keyser stated. "We've been practicing very good this whole week. There were very good, quality practices, and to see that relaying to matches is good to see."

On court 3, junior Monica Mitta (Fairhope, Ala.) added to the advantage with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Iva Parapunova, and Papke took care of Savannah Wood 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 at No. 4.

Matuskova extended her win streak to 12, wrapping up the afternoon with a 7-5, 7-6 (13-11) victory over Ellie Gerlach.

The Jaguars host the South Alabama Classic this week, starting with Miami (Ohio) Tuesday at 1 p.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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