The Copiah-Lincoln Community College Lady Wolves’ tennis team remains unbeaten as the team defeated both Northeast Community College and Itawamba Community College this past weekend on an overnight trip. The victories, both 7-2, give the Lady Wolves an excellent start to the young 2017 season.

“The women continued to come strong and play well from start to finish,” said head coach Blake Smith. “This is the best start I could’ve asked for.”

The Lady Wolves took a 2-1 lead against Northeast after taking the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles courts. Ximena Daza and Laura Vargas played the No. 1 slot and won decisively, 8-2. Maddie Ogden and Chantel Quarles paired up at No. 3 and also grabbed an 8-2 victory. Bayli Battle and Julie Kramer suffered an 8-5 loss at No. 2 doubles after a tough match.

Daza breezed to victory in No. 1 singles with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Northeast’s Meagan Trexler. Vargas followed suit at No. 2 and won 6-1, 6-0 over Abbey Hollawell. At No. 3 singles Quarles defeated Meredith Murphy handedly, 6-2, 6-0. Kristina Taylor defeated Co-Lin’s Susanna Ratcliff at No. 4 singles after a thrilling match that ended in a tiebreaker. Taylor won 4-6, 6-4, 10-4. Battle and Ogden rounded out Co-Lin’s singles matches with two big wins. Battled defeated Amber Norris 6-2, 6-0 and Ogden routed Sara Talley 6-0, 6-0.

The Lady Wolves traveled to Fulton on Saturday to take on ICC where the Lady Wolves won 7-2.

“This was a hard fought match and a real test for the women,” said Smith. “We set the tone by sweeping doubles, but lost a couple of heartbreakers in third set tiebreakers.”

Daza and Vargas grabbed an early 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles for Co-Lin. Battle and Ratcliff picked up an 8-6 victory at No. 2 doubles, and Quarles and Ogden paired up at No. 3 and won 8-2.

The dominating doubles play helped the Lady Wolves carry momentum over into singles action as Daza and Vargas earned wins at No. 1 and No. 2. Daza defeated Jordan Roberts 6-4, 6-3, while Vargas blew by Bailey Gillentine 6-0, 6-0. Quarles fell to ICC’s Karlin Garrett at No. 3 in a difficult 6-7, 6-1, 10-4 match. Ratcliff also suffered a tough loss at No. 4 for the Lady Wolves. ICC’s Georgia Clair Campbell defeated Ratcliff 6-2, 0-6, 11-9. Once again, Battle and Ogden finished strong at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Battle defeated Lizbeth Jiminez 6-1, 6-2 and Ogden surpassed Charity Tedford 6-4, 6-4.

“The girls played really hard in this match,” said Smith. “We’ve made huge improvements and hopefully we can continue to get better each day.”

The Lady Wolves are back in action Saturday, March 4 as the team travels to Perkinston to take on Mississippi Gulf Coast.