WISE, Va. – The UVa-Wise women's tennis team topped Bluefield College (Va.) 6-3 in a midweek non-conference match Wednesday evening at the Jim and Betty Humphreys Tennis Complex. The Cavaliers (5-3) split doubles matches against the visiting Rams (0-1) but claimed three out of five singles matches played to earn the win. Bluefield College only had five players available to compete, which gave the Cavs wins at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles by default.
 
Beginning the match with a 2-0 lead, junior Marti Gay (Denton, Texas) and sophomore Mackenzie Lawson (Wise, Va.) gave UVa-Wise a 3-0 advantage when they took down Bluefield College's Rebecca Havens and Mykenzie Roach 8-5 at No. 2 doubles. The Rams earned a win at the top doubles spot when the duo of junior Daria Tyshchenko (Kirovograd, Ukraine) and senior Bailey Christoforatos (Fredericksburg, Va.) were defeated 8-3 by Gema Mendoza and Paloma Sanchez.
 
In singles play, Gay and freshman Taylor Carter (Church Hill, Tenn.) made quick work of their opponents. Gay earned a 6-1, 6-2 win against Bluefield College's Roach at No. 5 singles before Carter won her eighth consecutive singles match to begin her collegiate career, defeating the Rams' Reagan Coe 6-1, 6-1 at the fourth spot. At the second singles position, Christoforatos battled her way back from a 6-4 first-set loss to Havens of Bluefield College in order to claim the second set 6-1 and then the 10-point tiebreak in the third, 10-3.
 
The Rams two singles wins came at the top two spots where Bluefield College's Mendoza earned a three-set win over Tyshchenko and Sanchez bested freshman Aya Melhem (Rockvale, Tenn.). Tyshchenko nearly pulled off the comeback at No. 1 singles when she rebounded from a 6-2 first-set loss by taking the second, 6-4. However, the Rams' Mendoza was consistent in the third-set tiebreaker and clinched the match with a 10-4 victory.
 
The Cavs now hit the road for a pair of matches this weekend. UVa-Wise returns to Mountain East Conference play Saturday with a 12 p.m. match at the University of Charleston, before facing Concord University Sunday in Athens, West Virginia. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday and the men's team will also take on the Mountain Lions, but will be playing the match as a non-conference contest since it is not the men's championship season.
 
Visit uvawisecavs.com for all Cavalier women's tennis news, statistics, complete schedule and more.
 
Full Match Results
UVa-Wise 6, Bluefield College 3
 
Singles
1. Gema Mendoza (BLFCOL) def. Daria Tyshchenko (WISE) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)
2. Paloma Sanchez (BLFCOL) def. Aya Melhem (WISE) 6-0, 6-0
3. Bailey Christoforatos (WISE) def. Rebecca Havens (BLFCOL) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3)
4. Taylor Carter (WISE) def. Reagan Coe (BLFCOL) 6-1, 6-1
5. Marti Gay (WISE) def. MyKenzie Roach (BLFCOL) 6-1, 6-2
6. Mackenzie Lawson (WISE) def. No player (BLFCOL), by default
 
Doubles
1. Gema Mendoza/Paloma Sanchez (BLFCOL) def. Daria Tyshchenko/Bailey Christoforatos (WISE) 8-3
2. Marti Gay/Mackenzie Lawson (WISE) def. Rebecca Havens/MyKenzie Roach (BLFCOL) 8-5
3. Aya Melhem/Taylor Carter (WISE) def. No player/No player (BLFCOL), by default