DAVIDSON, N.C. - Junior Samantha Galainena led the Wildcats back from a 2-1 deficit by earning a key three-set singles win as Davidson opened up the 2010 women's tennis spring season with a thrilling 4-3 win over visiting South Carolina State on Monday afternoon at the Knobloch Tennis Center.

With the match tied at 3-3, Galainena sealed the win by blanking I-Chun Chen, 6-0, in the final set at No. 5 singles to give the Wildcats the winning point. The junior regrouped after falling 6-4 in the first set by taking a 6-4 decision in the second set. She then rolled in the third set to give Davidson the win.

The junior is coming off a strong sophomore season a year ago, going 9-9 in singles play and 5-5 in doubles action.

Earlier, Galainena along with Ali Gores were the lone Wildcat doubles team to pick up a win. They secured an 8-5 decision over Laura Bosneag and Fanni Fricska at No. 3 doubles.

Davidson trailed the match 2-1 after South Carolina State grabbed a win at No. 3 singles. Prior to that, Alison Rauh opened up her junior year in impressive fashion with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 2 singles to tie the match up at 1-all.

Picking up the Wildcats other two points on the day were senior Teresa Wang and sophomore Stephani Synn at No. 4 and 6 singles, respectively. Wang, in her first singles match since 2008, won a hard-fought battle with Bosneag, winning the first set in a tie breaker, 7-6, before finishing out the match with a 6-4 decision. The senior was forced to miss all of last season due to a preseason injury.

Synn, who also missed all of last year, started her collegiate debut with a nice 6-4, 7-6 win over Iveta Blodniece.

Davidson returns to action with a doubleheader this weekend, Feb. 6. The OCats first open up against Wingate at 10 a.m., and then close out the day with a 3 p.m. match against North Carolina A&T.