Opponent:
Salem at Columbia College | March 12 | Columbia, S.C. | 1 p.m.
SALEM WRAPS UP FINAL MATCH BEFORE SPRING BREAK
The Salem tennis team wraps up its final match before spring break on Tuesday afternoon when the Spirits head to South Carolina for a clash with Columbia College. The match will begin at 1 p.m.
SPIRITS CLASH WITH ELON IN SECOND-EVER MATCH VERSUS NCAA DIVISION I OPPOSITION
The Salem team capped off its second match against an NCAA Division I opponent, which took place at Elon, by falling 5-0 to the host Phoenix at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
The two teams originally began the match outdoors, but it was moved indoors to the Starmount Country Club in nearby Greensboro, N.C.
Elon opened with a victory Simone Bergeron and Ella Suk, who downed Cadence Durham and Alana Bridges by a 6-1 margin in No. 2 doubles. Teammates Miray Konar and Helen Sarikulaya wrapped up a 6-0 win in No. 3 doubles over the tandem of Jessea James and Emily Griffis.
The Phoenix captured the one point in doubles play with a 6-1 victory in No. 1 action from Mariana Reding and Madison Cordisco, who clashed with Adley Keim and Mariana Faint. That point marked the only other point for the Spirits in the match.
Konar notched her second point of the match in No. 6 singles, posting a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins against James. Bergeron followed with a point of her own in No. 5 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph against Bridges.
Mariana Reding earned the decisive point in No. 2 singles, posting a 6-0, 6-0 win in a clash with Faint. Lizette Reding claimed the final point of the match for Elon by taking down Keim in straight sets (6-0, 6-0) in a meeting of No. 1 singles.
LOOKING TO RETURN TO THE WIN COLUMN
Salem will be looking to return to the win column in its clash against Columbia College. The Spirits opened the spring season with a win over Ferrum, 9-0, on February 20th. Since that point, Salem has dropped a 7-2 decision to Sweet Briar (Feb. 25) and a 5-0 match versus Elon (March 8).
The 2021-22 season was the last time that the Spirits lost consecutive matches in February and March, but Ed Steele and his team responded to that challenge by closing out the season by winning six of the final seven matches, including four straight.
SALEM OPENS 2024 SPRING SLATE WITH DECISIVE WIN AT FERRUM
The Salem tennis team claimed its seventh straight win and second all-time shutout against Ferrum when the Spirits posted a 9-0 win at Ferrum on Tuesday afternoon.
Making just its second trip to Ferrum in program history, Salem got off to a great start with an 8-0 win in No. 3 doubles as the tandem of Alyx Diggs and Abrielle Eckenroth downed Emily Walker and Marcella Hatcher. The lead moved to 2-0 for Salem as the No. 1 singles pairing of Mariana Faint and Adley Keim posted an 8-3 win over Ferrum's Hannah Huffman and Gabby Mendoza.
Salem completed the doubles sweep as the second-seeded tandem of Emily Griffis and Alana Bridges fought past Morgan Hundley and Mary Mason to earn the 9-8 (7-3) victory.
Bridges kept the Panthers without a point in the match as she stretched the Salem lead to 4-0 in No. 5 singles by posting a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Walker. Eckenroth followed with the match-winning point at the No. 6 singles spot, downing Hatcher by scores of 6-0, 6-0.
Diggs continued the straight set trend with a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins over Mason in No. 4 singles as the Spirits owned a 6-0 lead. Faint picked up a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Huffman in No. 2 singles, while Keim added the eighth point for the Spirits with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph against Hundley in the clash of No. 1 seeds.
Griffis completed a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Mendoza in No. 3 singles action, helping the Spirits win every singles match in two-set fashion.
WHAT THE SPIRITS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE FALL SEASON
Salem concluded the 2023 fall season with a win over Guilford (7-2), while three the trio of Adley Keim (3-0), Cadence Durham (2-1) and Mariana Faint (2-1) earned two individual wins apiece.
The five-point win over the Quakers marked the first time since the 2018 season that Salem opened the season with a victory. The Spirits last opened the season with a win on September 29, 2018 when they downed Hollins by a 9-0 margin.
All three of Keim's victories came in the No. 1 singles position, while Faint picked up both wins in the fall season as the No. 2 singles player. Durham led the way for the Spirits in the No. 3 position with two triumphs of her own.
Faint and Keim paired up in No. 1 doubles to win all three matches in the fall slate, while Durham teamed with Alyx Diggs to notch one win in No. 3 doubles.
HOW COLUMBIA ENTERS THE MATCH AT SALEM
Columbia College, which competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference in NAIA, enters Tuesday's match with a 5-6 mark on the season.
The Koalas opened the 2023-24 campaign with a decisive 9-0 victory over Mary Baldwin on September 16th, before falling in three straight matches to Coker (4-1), Johnson C. Smith (5-3) and USC-Sumter (3-2) during the month of October.
Columbia return to the courts on February 13th and edged out Agnes Scott by a 5-4 margin. Two days later, the Koalas retaliated on a previous loss to Johnson C. Smith with a 6-3 win of their own in Charlotte, N.C.
However, the month ended with a four-match losing streak to the likes of Savannah College of Art & Design (Atlanta), Tennessee Wesleyan, Union (Ky.) and Truett-McConnell. The matches against Tennessee Wesleyan and Union (Ky.) were against ranked opposition for the Koalas with the pair ranking fifth and 18th, respectively.
March has seen a turn of fortune for Columbia, which has posted a 5-2 win over Johnson (Tenn.) and a 4-3 victory at Maryville (Tenn.).
THIRD ALL-TIME CLASH WITH KOALAS
Tuesday marks the third-ever meeting with Columbia and first since October 29, 2017.
The two teams faced each other at their respective home sites. The first meeting took place in Columbia on February 11th, with the Koalas prevailing 8-1 in that match.
Salem hosted the match on October 29, 2017, with Columbia earning a 9-0 victory.
