ECU Loses 4-3 Battle At George Washington | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.



    WASHINGTON, D.C.     For the second straight day, the East Carolina women's tennis team lost a heartbreaking match, this one a 4-3 setback at George Washington.

    The Pirates fall to 2-7 on the year while George Washington improves to 4-5.

    For the second straight match, the Pirates got an early lead after doubles play. The Pirates were the first to win a doubles match, as Anne Lou Champion and Isabella Rivera Ortiz knocked off Alexandra Vesikallio and Sarah Bodewes on court three. But the Colonials answered as Stella Weisemann and Katarina Marinkovikj beat Ines Bachir and Alisha Hussain 6-4 on the top court. It all came down to court two where Sofia Cerezo Holgado and Alisa Diercksen were knotted with Charlotte Bell and Lindsay Thompson at 5-5. The Pirates got the upper hand as Holgado and Diercksen grabbed consecutive games to clinch a 7-5 victory.

    The Pirates' early lead did not last long however. George Washington won the opening set on four of the six singles courts and quickly converted three of those opening sets into points. First, Vesikallio finished off a 6-1, 6-1 match against Ortiz on court three. The Colonials took the lead when Weisemann topped Martina Muzzolon 6-3, 6-1 on court one. It became 3-1 when Marinkovikj beat Diercksen 6-4, 6-4 on court two.

    But East Carolina did not fold in the face of the Colonials' pressure. Hussain kept the Pirates alive by closing out a 7-5, 6-3 win over Thompson on court four. The match was once again tied up when Bachir closed out a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Bell on court five.

    That meant it all came down to court six where Holgado had recovered to win the second set after facing an early deficit against Lara McNaughten. The pair went back and forth in the crucial third set, with neither able to gain separation. It went to a tiebreaker to finally decide the match where unfortunately McNaughten was able to pull away to clinch the Colonials' victory.

    ECU will try to close out its three-match road swing with a win as the Pirates take on Maryland on Wednesday afternoon. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., in Colleg Park, Md.