Bears Open SoCon With 6-1 Win Over Catamounts

Saturday, March 4

Macon, Ga.

11:00 AM

Mercer University

Western Carolina

Bears Open SoCon With 6-1 Win Over Catamounts

3/4/2017 3:42:00 PM | Women's Tennis

MACON, Ga. – Mercer opened Southern Conference play with a convincing 6-1 win over Western Carolina on Saturday. The Bears and the Catamounts played the first match of the conference season this year.

The Bears started strong, winning the doubles point and taking a 1-0 lead overall. Mercer won all three pairings to start the day.

In singles action, Katia Stavroulaki made it 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-1 win at flight one, followed by Marie Mottet's 6-0, 6-1 win at flight four. Anna Sovic clinched the match for Mercer, making it 4-0, with a 6-4, 6-0 win at flight six.

Katie Sidor picked up a 6-4, 6-1 win at flight three and Haley Powell won her match 6-3, 6-3 at flight five to move the score to 6-0 for the Bears. Western Carolina won the final singles match to keep Mercer from sweeping the Catamounts.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Anna Sovic once again won both her singles and doubles matches for the Bears. She also clinched the match for Mercer, winning 6-4, 6-0 at flight six.

Mercer will host Detroit Mercy on Tuesday, March 7 at 10 a.m. as the Bears play three more non-conference opponents before resuming SoCon play.

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Tennis, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerWTennis (Twitter) and /MercerWTennis (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Mercer 6, Western Carolina 1
March 4, 2017 | 11:00 a.m. | Macon, Ga. | LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center

Singles
1. Katia Stavroulaki (MER) def. Savannah Taranto (WCU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Jordan Strickland (WCU) def. Grace Korta (MER) 7-5, 6-4
3. Katie Sidor (MER) def. Alexa Webb (WCU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Marie Mottet (MER) def. Lauren McCall (WCU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Haley Powell (MER) def. Madison Riley (WCU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Anna Sovic (MER) def. Elizabeth Ansari (WCU) 6-4, 6-0

Doubles
1. Katia Stavroulaki/Grace Korta (MER) def. Savannah Taranto/Alexa Webb (WCU) 6-2
2. Anna Sovic/Katie Sidor (MER) def. Madison Riley/Jordan Strickland (WCU) 6-2
3. Marie Mottet/Haley Powell (MER) def. Elizabeth Ansari/Lauren McCall (WCU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Western Carolina 6-3, 0-1 SoCon
Mercer University 5-4, 1-0 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,6,3,5,2)
T-2:15