LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.— The Montreat women's tennis team played a pair of matches against ranked opponents in Lawrenceville, Ga. this weekend, defeating No. 11 Xavier University-Louisiana on Friday, 4-0, while falling to No. 13 Lindsey Wilson on Saturday, 4-3. By going 1-1 over the weekend, the Cavaliers now sit at 3-3 on the season.
 
Montreat handled its business quickly and efficiently on Friday against the Xavier Gold Nuggets, taking the first two doubles matchups to lock up the doubles point. Stephanie Petit and Sofia Hernandez Mera took all six games to cruise to a 6-0 win, while Mariam Bayatyan and Vaishnavi Venkatesh were almost equally as efficient by winning 6-2.
 
In singles play, the Cavaliers seized straight-set victories in the first three matches that reached their conclusions. Playing at No. 3, Nicole Bueno toppled her foe with identical 6-2 set wins. Meanwhile, newcomer Carolina Reis utilized a 6-2, 6-1 victory in the No. 4 singles matchup.
 
Playing at No. 5, Venkatesh capitalized on a six-game sweep in set one and a 6-4 second set to finish off the Gold Nuggets and claim a 4-0 team win.
 
On Saturday, Montreat played a tight one against the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders. Competing for what proved to be a critical doubles point, the Blue Raiders edged out the Cavs behind victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 pairings, 6-3 and 6-1, respectively. Petit and Hernandez Mera took the other matchup at No. 2, 6-1.
 
In singles play, the Cavaliers fared quite well at the top, winning in straight sets in the top-three singles matches. Petit coasted to a victory over No. 23 Alexandra Parra, dropping just a single game along the way (6-0, 6-1), while Bayatyan claimed a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2. Reis played a closer match, but thanks to an 8-6 tiebreak, she was able to finish off her challenger in two sets as well, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.
 
Montreat needed just one more singles victory to claim the team win, but the Blue Raiders made an impressive stand late. A straight-sets win at No. 4 moved Lindsey Wilson closer to victory, something it achieved with a pair of three-set matches.
 
At No. 6, the Blue Raiders snatched a tight match from the Cavs in three sets, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Then, at No. 5, Lindsey Wilson relied on the No. 37-ranked singles player in the NAIA to close out the win. Playing in a third-set tiebreaker, the Blue Raiders pulled out the win, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-0). Those three singles points, coupled with the doubles point, gave LWC the edge over the Cavaliers, 4-3.
 
The Montreat women's tennis team plays two matches on Wednesday in Knoxville, Tenn., one against a conference foe and one versus a non-conference opponent. The Cavaliers are scheduled to start off with (RV) Cumberland University at 11:00 a.m., followed by Johnson University-Tennessee at 3:00 p.m.
 
No. 6 Montreat College 4, No. 11 Xavier-University 0
Doubles competition:
1. Carolina Reis/Nicole Bueno: DNF
2. Sofia Hernandez Mera/Stephanie Petit: Win (6-0)
3. Mariam Bayatyan/Vaishnavi Venkatesh: Win (6-2)
Singles competition:
1. Stephanie Petit: DNF
2. Mariam Bayatyan: DNF
3. Nicole Bueno: Win (6-2, 6-2)
4. Carolina Reis: Win (6-2, 6-1)
5. Vaishnavi Venkatesh: Win (6-0, 6-4)
6. Sofia Hernandez Mera: DNF
 
No. 13 Lindsey Wilson College 4, No. 6 Montreat College 3
Doubles competition:
1. No. 17 Alexandra Parra/Lucia Mora (LWC) def. Carolina Reis/Nicole Bueno (MONT) 6-3
2. Stephanie Petit/Sofia Hernandez (MONT) def. Reshma Challarapu/Salome Sposetti (LWC) 6-1
3. Parisa Rachdanone/A. Ivanchenko (LWC) def. Vaishnavi Venkatesh/Mariam Bayatian (MONT) 6-1
Singles competition:
1. No. 1 Stephanie Petit (MONT) def. No. 23 Alexandra Parra (LWC) 6-0, 6-1
2. Mariam Bayatyan (MONT) def. Lucia Mora (LWC) 6-4, 6-2
3. Carolina Reis (MONT) def. Reshma Challarapu (LWC) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
4. A. Ivanchenko (LWC) def. Nicole Bueno (MONT) 6-3, 6-2
5. No. 37 Parisa Rachdanone (LWC) def. Vaishnavi Venkatesh (MONT) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-0)