WILSON, N.C.-Barton College won three consecutive third sets in singles play to close out a 5-4 Conference Carolinas women's tennis victory over visiting Converse College on Friday afternoon at the Barton Tennis Complex.
The Lady Bulldogs improved to 2-3 overall with 1-1 in league play. The Valkyries dip under .500 with 4-5 overall and 2-3 league ledgers.
"It was a big team win for us because they already have two league wins," said BC third year head coach Tom Schrecengost. "It shows we are moving in the right direction as the season progresses."
A pair of 6-2, 6-2 wins by sophomore No. 2 Olivia Self (Greenville, S.C.) and freshman No. 5 Stella Ford (Georgetown, S.C.) provided Converse with a 3-2 lead before Barton rallied for the victory.
Barton freshman Mika Deane (Auckland, New Zealand) evened the score with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win at the top spot in the lineup against freshman Ariel Strong (Cassatt, S.C.), who entered the match with a winning 4-3 singles record.
Senior No. 4 Jaime Galasso (Winston-Salem, N.C.) put the Royal Blue and White ahead with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win before a sophomore No. 6 Francesca Del Pozo (Lima, Peru) clinched the Bulldogs win with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 comeback.
Del Pozo and Galasso both evened their singles record to 2-2 while Deane improved to 2-3.
Converse senior Lindsey Kelly (Camden, S.C.) edged Barton sophomore Lindsey Frederick (Goldsboro, N.C.) in a super-set tiebreaker – 5-7, 6-4, 10-5 – to close the final margin of defeat to only one.
Self and Kelly provided the Valkyries only doubles winning 8-5 in the top slot. Self and Kelly are 5-4 paired together and also lead Converse with matching 5-4 singles records.
Deane and Frederick posted an 8-2 win in the middle doubles match and Galasso and Del Pozo cruised to an 8-1 win to give the hosts a 2-1 advantage after pairs.
Barton will visit Conference Carolinas rival Coker College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
