ELON, N.C. - North Carolina Central University sophomore Rebecca Wood and freshman Aissa Muamba posted 2-1 records in singles competition and enjoyed doubles victories during the three-day women's tennis Elon Phoenix Fall Invitational, which concluded in cloudy conditions Sunday.
Wood, a native of Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom, defeated Amy Ellis of UNC Greensboro, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2, on Friday, then knocked off Puja Patel of Meredith, 6-1, 6-2, on Saturday, before ending her run with a loss to Taylor Cohen of USC Upstate (6-3, 6-1) on Saturday afternoon.
In doubles play, Wood teamed up with sophomore Ekaterina Nekrasova (Severodvinsk, Russia) to upset ACC opponents Emily Lauten and Isel Martinez-Marcos, 8-6, on Friday. The Lady Eagles duo then lost to a doubles team from Campbell in a heart-breaking tiebreaker, 9-8 (4).
Muamba, a native of Laval, Canada, started her weekend run by blanking Kendra Harris of North Carolina A&T, 6-0, 6-0. She then defeated Erin Maguire of Western Carolina, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the championship match of the B-2 singles flight. The start of Sunday's match was delayed due to inclement weather, but that did not cool down the level of competition. Muamba won the first set against Kirsten Renz of Campbell, 2-6, dropped the second set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), and lost the deciding set in a 10-point tiebreaker, 10-7.
Muamba and doubles partner Julia Aguilar (Henderson, N.C.) enjoyed an 8-4 doubles victory over Meredith on Friday, before bowing out in an 8-4 doubles setback versus Western Carolina on Saturday.
"Aissa comes in as a player with talent greater than I expected," said NCCU women's tennis head coach David Nass. "She's young, but has wonderful court presence. She's under control all the way through the match, even when the match is tight. Aissa was up against tough competition and came out there matter-of-factly. She has a great future here at NCCU.
Another highlight for NCCU was the doubles play of senior Olesya Palko (Kyiv, Ukraine) and freshman Mia Ramic (Split, Croatia). After losing their first match to USC Upstate (8-3) on Friday, the duo won matches against UNC Greensboro (8-5) and Virginia Tech (8-6) in the consolation finals.
Nass said the doubles team of Palko and Ramic "exceeded expectations as first time doubles partners."
NCCU's next competition on the fall schedule is on Oct. 18-22 in the Longwood Regional Tournament in Farmville, Va.
NCCU RESULTS
A-1 Singles Flight
Olesya Palko (0-2 record)
lost to Frida Jansaker, Elon (6-1, 6-0)
lost to Stacia Kissell, Western Carolina (6-1, 6-1)
Ekaterina Nekrasova (0-2 record)
lost to Isel Martinez-Marcos, Virginia Tech (4-6, 6-4, 4-2 ret.)
lost to Stephanie Falcon, UNC Greensboro (6-2, 6-1)
A-2 Singles Flight
Rebecca Wood (2-1 record)
defeated Amy Ellis, UNC Greensboro (6-0, 4-6, 6-2)
defeated Puja Patel, Meredith (6-1, 6-2)
lost to Taylor Cohen, USC Upstate (6-3, 6-1)
B-1 Singles Flight
Mia Ramic (1-1 record)
defeated Unique Hawkins, N.C. A&T (6-0, 6-0)
lost to Briana Berne, Elon (6-1, 6-1)
B-2 Singles Flight
Julia Aguilar (0-2 record)
lost to T. Reid, N.C. A&T (6-0, 6-2)
lost to Mack Thompson, Meredith (6-1, 6-0)
Aissa Muamba (2-1 record)
defeated Kendra Harris, N.C. A&T (6-0, 6-0)
defeated Erin Maguire, Western Carolina (6-1, 6-3)
lost to Kirsten Renz, Campbell (2-6, 7-6 (2), 10-7) - flight championship match
A-1 Doubles Flight
Nekrasova/Wood (1-1 record)
defeated Lauten/Martinez-Marcos, Virginia Tech (8-6)
lost to Chernaya/Ortiz, Campbell (9-8 (4))
A-2 Doubles Flight
Palko/Ramic (2-1 record)
lost to Beeler/Kuerten, USC Upstate (8-3)
defeated Ellis/Grinberg, UNC Greensboro (8-5)
defeated Conley/Temory, Virginia Tech (8-6)
B-2 Doubles Flight
Muamba/Aguilar (1-1 record)
defeated Musgrave/Thompson, Meredith (8-4)
lost to Jimenez/Maguire, Western Carolina (8-4)
