NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Belmont Bruins bounced back from last weekend with two victories against IUPUI and Cumberland University on Saturday: 6-1, 7-0.
IUPUI
Already spotted a point in singles and a win in doubles, the Bruins faced a Jaguar team with just five available performers Saturday afternoon.
After taking the forfeit of IUPUI's pairing of Marta Krakowski and Diya Matta, Belmont had to take just one of their two pairings to seal the point. That point was taken when the senior pairing of Somer Henry and Peyton Lee took down Christina Stankovic and Sarah Lounsbury 6-3.
After that, comeback magic was in the air for partners Gina Feistel and Meredith Roberts. The court one tandem stormed back from a 4-2 deficit to take the match 7-6.
In the singles' portion, Feistel jumped on Stankovic in set one, 6-0. But after going down 5-2 in the second set, Feistel brought back her magic. In gutsy fashion, the German freshman pulled off the 7-6 comeback to sweep Stankovic.
Elsewhere, Lee and Roberts took home two set wins as well. However, the early bird that got the first worm was freshman Viktoria Kliimand. The Estonian finished off Marta Krakowski in back-to-back sets by 6-1 scores.
Henry won her first set 6-4 against Meghan Bernard. Sadly, she had to stop playing after battling cramps in her second set defeat.
The win pushed Belmont to 3-2 this spring as they get ready to face Cumberland University in part two of their Saturday doubleheader.
CUMBERLAND
The Bruins got the match started by shaking things up. Starting in doubles, Henry and Lee were given the match off and in stepped junior Taylor Trondson and freshman Aly Getty.
In their spring debuts, Trondson and Getty took down Lara Zugasti and Alexandra Leisibach 6-3. It did not end there. In singles, Trondson bested Zugasti in back-to-back 6-1 sets.
Getty may have needed three sets to finish the points' sweep, but she did against Carly Earnhardt by margins of 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 to clinch Belmont's first 7-0 win of the spring.
The third Bruin playing her first spring action was senior Lauren Carelli. After her doubles' match ended unfinished, Carelli took down Kaede Hatano in two sets: 6-2, 6-1.
Finally, the usual suspects of Kliimand, Feistel and Roberts all finished their second match of the day. The doubles' tram of Feistel and Roberts moved to 4-0 this spring.
The wins give Belmont momentum as they enter a 14-day hiatus. They will return two Saturdays from now when they face Lipscomb in the annual Battle of the Boulevard on Saturday, February 19 at 3:00pm.
BELMONT 6, IUPUI 1
DOUBLES
G. Feistel/M. Roberts (BU) def. M. Bernard/S. Hayward – 7-6 (3)
S. Henry/P. Lee (BU) def. S. Lounsbury/C. Stankovic – 6-3
V. Kliimand/L. Carelli def. M. Krakowski/D. Matta - Forfeit
SINGLES
Gina Feistel (BU) def. Christina Stankovic – 6-0, 7-6 (2)
Meghan Bernard def. Somer Henry (BU) – INJ Forfeit (Henry)
Peyton Lee (BU) def. Sarah Lounsbury – 6-3, 6-1
Meredith Roberts (BU) def. Samantha Hayward – 6-1, 6-3
Viktoria Kliimand (BU) def. Marta Krakowski – 6-1, 6-1
Lauren Carelli (BU) def. Diya Matta – Forfeit
BELMONT 7, CUMBERLAND (TN) 0
DOUBLES
G. Feistel/M. Roberts (BU) def. K. Hatano/J. Hernandez – 6-1
A. Getty/T. Trondson (BU) def. A. Leisibach/L. Zugasti – 6-3
L. Carelli/V. Kliimand (BU) vs. M. Arbelaez/L. Zugasti - unfinished
SINGLES
Gina Feistel (BU) def. Jessica Hernandez – 6-1, 6-3
Meredith Roberts (BU) def. Maria Arbelaez – 6-0, 6-1
Viktoria Kliimand (BU) def. Elina Sungatullina – 6-1, 6-3
Lauren Carelli (BU) def. Kaede Hatano – 6-2, 6-1
Taylor Trondson (BU) def. Lara Zugasti – 6-1, 6-1
Aly Getty (BU) Carly Earnhardt – 6-4, 6-3, 10-6
