Wesleyan men's and women's tennis earns split at Chowan

Murfreesboro, NC - The men's and women's tennis teams of North Carolina Wesleyan earned a split at Chowan University on Thursday afternoon.  The men picked up an 8-1 win in their season opener as junior Davit Minasyan (left) recorded wins at #1 singles and #1 doubles, while the women (0-2) suffered a tough 5-4 defeat to the Lady Hawks. Despite the loss, the match was highlighted by sophomore Leila Heinonen (right) teaming with Jaime Galasso for an 8-1 win at #1 doubles and later turning in her first career singles win at the 2nd seed.

In the men's match, the Battling Bishops jumped out to a 3-0 lead in doubles play as Minasyan/Marcelo Prata (8-6), Anton Filonov/Ilpo Kautonen (8-3), and Brandon Coleman/Dominic Forsdike (8-3) all recorded victories.

In singles play, Minasyan and Prata turned in straight-set wins at #1 and #2 singles, respectively, as did Filonov and Fred Lemongo at the 3rd and 4th slots.  The Hawks picked up their lone point at #5 singles as Adam Moneypenny downed Artem Alexandrov in three sets (7-5, 4-6, 10-6), while senior Dustin Hale rounded out Wesleyan's scoring with 6-2, 6-2 win at the 6th seed.

On the women's side, the Hawks took a 2-1 advantage in doubles play and went on to secure wins at #3, #4, and #6 singles.  Galasso moved to 2-0 on the season at the top seed with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over CU's Kashae Beverly, and Heinonen recorded a 6-1 win in the third set to tally NCWC's third point.

Wesleyan's final point came at #5 singles where sophomore Tija Riley picked up her first career win, a 6-3, 6-3 decision over the Hawks' Brittney Johnson.

The Bishop women return to action on Sunday when they host Salem College at 2:00 p.m. in their 2009 home opener.  Next up for Wesleyan's men are NYU and Salisbury on Friday and Sunday. Both matches will be played at SU.