BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Kourtney Kowal defeated Ana Maria Ortiz in three sets Wednesday to lift Coastal Carolina over Campbell 4-3 in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Conference women's tennis championship on the campus of Gardner-Webb University.
Karolina Chernaya, Tamara Stanic and Amelie Reichart won in singles for the fourth-seeded Camels (13-9), but the doubles point proved to be decisive for the Chanticleers.
"I thought that both teams competed and played very hard," said Campbell head coach David Johnson. "They secured the doubles point today where previously we had. In some respects that proved to ultimately make the difference, but I was real proud of the way that our girls fought. It went down to the very last match and even though we came up short today, I was real pleased with the effort and the attitude."
Chernaya ended her career with a 76-30 career singles record, just two shy of seventh place on Campbell's all-time victories list. She posted a 24-7 overall record this season to tie for 11th place on the school's single-season Division I era wins list. A four-time all-conference performer, Chernaya compiled a 17-4 mark in dual matches, including a 9-1 record at No.-1 against Big South opponents.
Stanic also matched Chernaya's single-season victories total (24-6) with a straight-sets win at No.-3 singles.
Fifth-seeded Coastal Carolina won the doubles point thanks to a tie-breaker victory at No.-3 by over Campbell's Ana Maria Ortiz and Ewa Telenga.
Natasha Afridi and Stanic improved to 20-8 on the season in doubles with an 8-5 win at the second spot.
Ironically, in Campbell's 4-3 victory Mar. 27 over Coastal at Buies Creek, Ortiz and Telenga won a tiebreaker at No.-3 doubles to secure the point for the Camels.
Coastal (18-6) will face top-seeded Charleston Southern (16-3) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the semifinal round. Friday's championship match is set for 2:30 p.m.
Coastal Carolina 4, Campbell 3
Big South Women's Tennis Championship Quarterfinal
at Boiling Springs, N.C.
Singles
1. Karolina Chernaya (CAM) def. Libby Scott 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
2. Honami Yazawa (CCU) def. Natasha Afridi 6-3, 6-3
3. Tamara Stanic (CAM) def. Romane Delay 6-0, 6-0
4. Kourtney Kowal (CCU) def. Ana Maria Ortiz 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
5. Amelie Reichart (CAM) def. Amanda Malatek 6-4, 7-6
6. Marie Babayan (CCU) def. Ewa Telenga 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
1. Libby Scott / Honami Yazawa (CCU) def. Karolina Chernaya / Claudia Ortiz 8-6
2. Natasha Afridi / Tamara Stanic (CAM) def. Amanda Malatek / Marie Babayan 8-5
3. Kourtney Kowal / Dominique De Wit (CCU) def. Ana Maria Ortiz / Ewa Telenga 8-7 (7-0)
Records: Coastal Carolina 18-6, Campbell 11-9
