Samford 7, Charlotte 0

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University tennis team opened its 2010 season in impressive fashion Saturday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 7-0 home victory against the Charlotte 49ers. Due to the rainy weather in the area, the match was held indoors at Samford's Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion.

Samford (1-0) won all three doubles matches Saturday to take an early 1-0 lead in the non-conference contest. The Bulldogs then won all six singles matches, five of which in straight sets, en route to the 7-0 victory.

Charlotte (0-1), which was recently predicted to finish third in the Atlantic-10 Conference, will continue its Alabama road trip Sunday with a match at UAB.

In Saturday's doubles competition, Samford's duo comprised of Lindsey Mallory and Taylor Morgan earned an 8-4 victory on court No. 1, while the Bulldogs' tandem of Andrie Meiring and Rebecca Kirven tallied a similar 8-4 win on court No. 2. In the No. 3 doubles match, Samford's pair of Stephanie Parkison and Madelie Janse van Rensburg cruised to an 8-1 victory.

The Bulldogs continued their dominance in singles play as they rallied for straight-set victories on courts No. 1 - 5.

Morgan defeated Alexandra Zinn, 6-3, 6-3, at court No. 1, while Meiring breezed to a 6-2, 6-3 win on court No. 2. In the No. 3 singles match, Samford's Janse van Rensburg defeated Charlotte's Kimber Redfern 6-2, 6-2.

The Bulldogs' Parkison and Mallory were also victorious on courts No. 4 and No. 5 in straight sets. Parkison tallied a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the No. 4 singles match, while Mallory earned a 6-1, 6-1 triumph on court No. 5.

In the closest match of Saturday's contest, Samford's Kirven outlasted Charlotte's Candace Cunningham 3-6, 7-5, 10-7 in the No. 6 singles competition.

The Samford University women's tennis team will next be in action Feb. 6 as the Bulldogs continue their three-match, season-opening homestand against the Columbus State Cougars at 1 p.m.

Mississippi State 5, College of Charleston 2

MIAMI, Fla. - College of Charleston women's tennis fell to nationally-ranked Mississippi State, 5-2, on Saturday morning at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center at the University of Miami. The match was part of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Women's Kick-Off Weekend.

Second-seeded Charleston, which is ranked 73rd on the ITA national poll, started out strong as senior Holly Dowse and junior Emma Hayman defeated Olesya Tsigvinseva and Mariia Ryzhova, 8-5, in doubles action. The win was the second of the season, having defeated a pair from Winthrop on Jan. 22.

The Bulldogs (1-0) captured the next two doubles matches to lead the Cougars (0-3), 1-0, heading into singles competition.

Sophomore Caroline Newman rebounded from her 8-4 doubles loss with teammate Irene Viana to pick up the team's first singles victory and even the match score, 1-1. Newman defeated her opponent at the No. 3 spot 6-0, 6-2 for her first singles win of the year.

Fourth-seeded Kinsey Casey also earned a singles point for the Cougars. After losing the first set, 6-4 to Ryzhova, she bounced pack to take the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2. The win brought CofC back into contention, down 3-2 to 57th-ranked Mississippi State.

Both Dowse and Hayman forced their opponents to a third set before eventually conceding wins at the first and second spots, respectively. Dowse outlasted top-seeded Tsigvintseva 7-5 in the first set before dropping the next two, 6-4 and 7-5. Hayman returned from a 6-4 loss in the first set to take the second set, 7-5. Her opponent, Radka Ferancova, won the third set, 7-5.