Thursday, April 14, 2011

DeLAND, Fla. – The fourth-seeded Stetson women’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the 2011 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with a 4-0 victory against fifth-seeded Kennesaw State Thursday morning at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.

The Hatters (17-5) won two of the three doubles matches to claim the first point and then claimed singles wins at the number six, four, and three positions to earn the victory.

In No. 1 doubles, Stetson’s team of Carolina de los Santos and Unnati Purushotham defeated Kennesaw’s team of Vera Shkundina and Ayano Tanaka 8-0. The Owls evened doubles play in the No. 2 court as Alex Apostu and Morgan Carney defeated Stetson’s MayaBlue Stauffer-MacDowell and Sierra Sullivan 8-1. The Hatters broke the tie and claimed the doubles point in the No. 3 court as Lindsey Cable and Shannon Gunning defeated the Owls’ Agatha Palider and Therese Lagerkvist 8-4.

Cable started the scoring in singles play with a straight set 6-0, 6-0 defeat of Swindall in the No. 6 position. Sullivan then defeated Therese Lagerkvist 6-3, 6-3 in the No. 4 slot. Gunning wrapped up the match for Stetson by scoring a 6-3, 6-1 victory against Agatha Palider in the no. 3 court.

The Hatters advance to play top-seeded ETSU on Friday at 9 a.m while the Owls finished their season with an 18-6 record.

Follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.