Victory over Seahawks Clinches Split for Gophers
TOWSON, Md. — After a difficult 5-4 loss to Stevenson to begin the day, Goucher recovered with a 6-3 defeat of St. Mary’s (Md.) to earn a split in its home doubleheader this afternoon.
TOWSON, Md. — After a difficult 5-4 loss to Stevenson to begin the day, Goucher recovered with a 6-3 defeat of St. Mary's (Md.) to earn a split in its home doubleheader this afternoon.
The Gophers (3-4) now have six days off before their Landmark opener at Moravian next Saturday.
Two of Goucher's four points against Stevenson came by default, as the Mustangs (1-3) brought only five players and had to forfeit matches at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles. The Gophers grabbed a 2-1 advantage after doubles, with Kelsey Turner (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Friends) and Kirsten Cianci (Bolton, Conn./Bolton) pulling out a 9-7 victory over Jordan Rupard and Ashley Pinter at No. 1 doubles.
Stevenson, however, won four of the five contested singles matches to steal the win. Three of those victories required comebacks, as Goucher grabbed the first set at No. 2, 3 and 5 singles before ultimately falling in three sets at each position. Alex Walsh (Greens Farm, Conn./Staples) earned the Gophers' lone singles point with a comfortable 6-0, 6-1 win from the No. 1 spot.
Goucher got back on track against the Seahawks (0-3), starting the match with three contested doubles triumphs. Walsh and Amanda Bercovici (Hackensack, N.J./Bergen Tech) picked up an 8-4 win over Shannon Ramsey and Emily Stumpfig at No. 1, Turner and Cianci outlasted Lauren Rost and Mollie Johnson 9-8 (7-3) at No. 2 and Alice Goldstein-Plesser (Durham, N.C./Durham School of the Arts) and Leigh Oehrig (Woodbine, Md./Glenelg) edged out Emily Rost and Kayla Baier 8-6 at No. 3.
The Gophers got their required two wins in singles, plus one more. Bercovici cruised past Ramsey 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 and Goldstein-Plesser clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory at No. 5. Emily Ruff (Easton, Md./Easton) added a 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 1-0 (10-5) come-from-behind win over Rost at No. 4.
Goucher next turns its attention to conference play. The Gophers were 5-1 in the Landmark last year, including a 5-4 win over next weekend's opponent, Moravian (8-2), last March.
