NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Piedmont 5, Covenant 0
Records: Piedmont, 24-4; Covenant, 11-9
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Piedmont women's tennis team claimed its second consecutive Collegiate Conference of the South Tournament Title and its third straight overall conference tournament championship, rolling past Covenant 5-0 on Saturday morning in Chattanooga.
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Two-time CCS Player of the Year
Abbey Grace Venham earned the clinch and was named CCS Tournament MVP.
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The Lions did not lose a single line to a conference opponent for the entire season.
Doubles action saw Piedmont jump ahead quickly with a pair of dominant wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
The duo of
Alyssa McSpadden and
Dakota Wilkes won their first six games on the way to a fantastic performance in an 8-1 victory. Just minutes later, the No. 1 team of Venham and
Bri Laidman won going away, 8-2, to shift focus to a battle occurring at No. 3.
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Despite falling down a break early on, the No. 3 team of
Brooklyn Bolch and
Marion Sloyan continued to battle. Despite not closing out four match point opportunities while leading 7-6, the duo emerged victorious, 7-4, in the tiebreaker to give Piedmont the doubles sweep and a 3-0 lead.
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Needing just two singles matches to claim the trophy, the Lions saw outstanding play from the top and the bottom of their lineup.Â
First, it was sophomore
Jordan Ballard, who cruised at No. 6 with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph to put the Lions a point away from clinching the title.
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It was a matter of time, as Piedmont's Venham, Laidman and McSpadden had each claimed first set wins at 1, 4 and 5.
However, it was the senior Venham who won the race to the clinch, as she took control after a slow start to her second set, winning five straight games to give the Lions their third straight year of celebrating on the court at the conference tournament.
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At the time of the clinch, Laidman was just a game away, leading 6-3, 5-2, while McSpadden was right behind her, leading 6-3, 4-0.Â
Wilkes had just put the finishing touches on battling back from down 4-0 to win a hard-fought first set 7-5 while Sloyan was up big in the second set at No. 2 after losing her first.
After the match, Ballard and senior
Dannie Evans were named to the CCS All-Tournament Team, joining the MVP Venham on the squad.
Up next, the Lions will await their fate for NCAA Tournament selection. The CCS currently does not receive an automatic bid into the national tournament.
TURNING POINT:
- Bolch and Sloyan battled through a hard-fought match at No. 3 doubles, but emerged victorious to squash any momentum from the Scots heading into singles.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
- Venham delivered a pair of wins to put the exclamation point on a legendary career.
- Ballard went 2-0 in singles in the CCS Tournament, winning at No. 1 in the semifinals before taking care of business at No. 6 in the final.
HOW TO FOLLOW:
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