April 21, 2005
East Carolina clinched a come-from-behind 4-2 win over Southern Miss to help the Pirates advance to the quarterfinals of the 2005 Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. ECU, which has recorded a winning season in 11 of the past 12 seasons, moves on to play the host TCU, which earned a first-round bye and is seeded second in the tournament.
Southern Miss got an early start by clinching the doubles point with an 8-6 win by No. 3 tandem of Ali Blackett and Jennifer Sibille. The two defeated ECU's Raluca Baicu and Alex Smith. Golden Eagle duo of Nicola Slater and Grace Kammerer beat Mireia Gol and Luiza Borges at No 2, while the Pirates picked up their lone doubles match at No. 1 (Kristin Buchanan and Gillie Bailey) over USM's Sherry Price and Nikhila Narra.
ECU's Gol grabbed the winning singles point to send the Pirates to the quarterfinals as the freshman defeated USM's Slater, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. In other single matches, Pirates' Bailey defeated Narra, 6-2, 7-5, Baicu beat Sibille, 6-2, 6-1 and Borges defeated Kammerer, 6-4, 6-3. For the Eagles' other point, Hannah Priest defeated Blackett at No. 6, 6-1, 6-3.
(9) East Carolina 4, (8) Southern Miss 2
Singles
1. Miriea Gol, ECU def. Nicola Slater, USM, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
2. Sherry Price, USM vs. Kirstin Buchanan, ECU, DNF (5-7, 6-3, 1-0)
3. Gillie Bailey, ECU def. Nikhila Narra, USM, 6-2, 7-5
4. Raluca Baicu, ECU def. Jennifer Sibille, USM, 6-2, 6-1
5. Luiza Borges, ECU def. Grace Kammerer, USM, 6-4, 6-3
6. Ali Blackett, USM def. Hannah Priest, ECU, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
1. Kristin Buchanan/Gillie Bailey, ECU def. Sherry Price/Nikhila Narra, 8-2
2. Nicola Slater/Grace Kammerer, USM def. Mireia Gol/Luiza Borges, ECU, 8-4
3. Ali Blackett/Jennifer Sibille, USM def. Raluca Baicu/Alex Smith, ECU, 8-6
