CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern opened Big South Conference play on Tuesday afternoon with a sweep over visiting Radford as the Buccaneers topped the Highlanders, 7-0.
CSU (3-0, 1-0) picked up their third win of the season and extended their home winning streak to 18 consecutive matches with the win over the Highlanders (0-7, 0-2).
"It was a good match today," said CSU head coach Mike Baker. "The wind and the conditions were kind of tough, but the girls stayed mentally tough and played hard today. Radford played a good match, and we're excited to start the conference season with a win."
CSU recorded their 13th straight Big South win in the win with the action starting on CSU's third straight doubles sweep to open the 2016 season.
Nicolin Luecke and Valeria Koussenkova opened the scoring on the afternoon with a 6-1 win over Natalie Sayer and Meili Martin on court no. 1. Brianna Thompson and Kimberley Koerner clinched the doubles point for the Bucs with a 6-2 win over Grace Sarver and Tarrannum Handa on court no. 2.
Sophie Cloessner and Gabriela Srodowski closed out the Bucs' doubles sweep with the 6-4 win over Claire Nguyen and Taylor Fay on court no. 3.
"Taking the doubles point was a great way to start the momentum in the match," said Baker. "We spend a lot of time working on doubles and it's nice to see the work is paying off."
CSU carried the momentum into singles play with Srodowski taking the 6-0, 6-0 win over Fay on court no. 4 to give the Bucs the 2-0 lead. Koussenkova followed with a 6-2, 6-0 win on court no. 6 over Pope, while Cloessner sealed the CSU win with the 6-2, 6-2 victory on court no. 2 over Handa.
Thompson finished shortly after on court no. 3, recording the 6-1, 6-4 win over Martin to raise the CSU lead to 5-0. Koerner added a win over Sarver on court no. 5, 6-2, 6-3.
Luecke closed out the action on court no. 1 with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Sayer.
The Buccaneers continue the 2016 season with one of their busiest stretches of the year as CSU travels to Longwood on Saturday, before hosting four matches in seven days at the Buccaneer Tennis Complex from March 7-14.
"We've done a lot of the work to get ready," said Baker. "Now, it's about resting, eating right and getting ourselves mentally ready to play a lot of matches over the next few weeks. The weather looks like it's turning here, and we're looking forward to it."
CSU travels to Farmville, Va., on Saturday afternoon to take on Longwood University in Big South Conference play. First serve in doubles action is set for 11 a.m.
Charleston Southern 7, Radford 0
Mar 01, 2016 at Charleston, S.C. (Buccaneer Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. LUECKE, Nicolin (CSU) def. SAYER, Natalie (RADFORD) 6-4, 7-6
2. CLOESSNER, Sophie (CSU) def. HANDA, Tarrannum (RADFORD) 6-2, 6-2
3. THOMPSON, Brianna (CSU) def. MARTIN, Meili (RADFORD) 6-1, 6-4
4. SRODOWSKI, Gabriela (CSU) def. FAY, Taylor (RADFORD) 6-0, 6-0
5. KOERNER, Kimberley (CSU) def. SARVER, Grace (RADFORD) 6-2, 6-3
6. KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) def. POPE, Karlie (RADFORD) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. LUECKE, Nicolin/KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) def. SAYER, Natalie/MARTIN, Meili (RADFORD) 6-1
2. THOMPSON, Brianna/KOERNER, Kimberley (CSU) def. HANDA, Tarrannum/SARVER, Grace (RADFORD) 6-2
3. SRODOWSKI, Gabriela/CLOESSNER, Sophie (CSU) def. FAY, Taylor/NGUYEN, Claire (RADFORD) 6-4
Match Notes
Radford 0-7, 0-2
Charleston Southern 3-0, 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,6,2,3,5,1)
T-2:30 A-48
