RALEIGH, N.C. - The Charleston Southern women's tennis team opened the 2011 spring season with a 7-0 defeat to No. 46 North Carolina State Saturday, Jan. 22 at Isenhour Tennis Center in Raleigh. Saturday's match is CSU's first of two contests against ranked ACC opponents to begin the season.

NC State entered the match with two singles competitors and two double pairs ranked in the top 100 in the nation, posing an early challenge for CSU.

CSU's junior, Olga Makhova, the two-time reigning Big South Player of the Year, competed against Sanaa Bhambri, the 32nd-ranked player in the nation. Bhambri claimed the match in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.

At No. 2 singles, 53rd-rated Sandhya Nagaraj posted a straight-sets victory over junior Marija Dazovic of CSU, winning by a 6-0, 6-2 score.

Senior Brooke Pletcher fell to Lenka Hojckova at No. 3, while NC State's Tana Illova downed freshman Alexandra Walters in the fourth singles match. Freshman Alia Nour and sophomore Susita Das were defeated at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, respectively.

NC State also claimed the doubles point by winning all three doubles matches. Bhambri and Nagaraj, ranked No. 7 as a doubles pair, defeated Makhova and Dzakovic, 8-2. The closest match was an 8-4 win by NCSU's Ashley Miller and Chloe Smith over Walters and Pletcher. The third NC State pair defeated Heather Isbell and Alia Nour.

CSU will next play at No. 11 Clemson Tuesday, Jan. 25. Tuesday's match will begin at 1 p.m., with live stats available through Clemson's athletics website.

Charleston Southern (0-1) at #46 NC State (1-0)

Raleigh, N.C. - Jan. 22, 2011

Singles Competition
1. #32 Sanaa Bhambri (NCSU) d. Olga Makhova (CSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. #54 Sandhya Nagaraj (NCSU) d. Marija Dzakovic (CSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Lenka Hojckova (NCSU) d. Brooke Pletcher (CSU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Tana Illova (NCSU) d. Alexandra Walters (CSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Joelle Kissell (NCSU) d. Alia Nour (CSU) 6-0, 6-0
6. Christy Sipes (NCSU) d. Susita Das (CSU) 6-1, 6-0

Doubles Competition
1. #7 Sanaa Bhambri/Sandhya Nagaraj (NCSU) d. Olga Makhova/Marija Dzakovic (CSU) 8-2
2. #86 Ashley Miller/Christy Sipes (NCSU) d. Alexandra Walters/Brooke Pletcher (CSU) 8-4
3. Joelle Kissell/Chloe Smith (NCSU) d. Heather Isbell/Alia Nour