Harding University Athletics

Jeff Montgomery

Piper Huey (pictured) and Laura Golubic nearly upset Northeastern's fourth-ranked doubles team.

Women's Tennis 2/16/2017 11:22:00 PM by Scott Goode (2/16/17)

No. 9 Northeastern State Defeats Harding Women's Tennis

SEARCY – Harding women's tennis battled ninth-ranked Northeastern State for almost four hours Thursday before falling to the RiverHawks 9-0 at the Harding Tennis Courts.

Harding dropped to 3-1 with the loss. Northeastern State, a member of the MIAA located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, improved to 5-2.

Northeastern State won all three doubles matches, but the No. 1 matchup was a classic. Northeastern's Molly Worden and Val Efimenko, ranked fourth in Division II, emerged victorious over Harding's Piper Huey and Laura Golubic 9-8, winning the tiebreaker 8-6. The match lasted 1 hour, 28 minutes.

Two of the six doubles matches went three sets. Northeastern's Caitlin McCullough defeated Harding's Gabriella Alves 2-6, 7-5, 10-6 in a third-set tiebreaker. The No. 4 singles match between Northeastern's Easton Parker and Harding's Brittany Smyser went three full sets with Parker winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Harding will be off for nine days before taking on Arkansas-Fort Smith on Feb. 25 in Searcy.

Tennis Match Results
Northeastern St. vs Harding
Feb 16, 2017 at Searcy, Ark.
(HU Tennis Courts)

#9 Northeastern St. 9, Harding 0

Singles competition
1. #35 Molly Worden (NSU) def. Piper Huey (HU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Val Efimenko (NSU) def. Laura Golubic (HU) 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
3. Caitlin McCullough (NSU) def. Gabriella Alves (HU) 2-6, 7-5, 10-6
4. Easton Parker (NSU) def. Brittany Smyser (HU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. Karla Tomaic (NSU) def. Arielle Butler (HU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Betha Gombarova (NSU) def. Emily Faulkner (HU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #4 Molly Worden/Val Efimenko (NSU) def. Piper Huey/Laura Golubic (HU) 9-8 (8-6)
2. Caitlin McCullough/Easton Parker (NSU) def. Gabriella Alves/Brittany Smyser (HU) 8-6
3. Karla Tomaic/Betha Gombarova (NSU) def. Emily Faulkner/Milou Dalmolen (HU) 8-3

Match Notes:
Northeastern St. 4-2; National ranking #9; Regional ranking #1
Harding 3-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,6,3,4,2)
No. 1 doubles match lasted 1 hour, 28 minutes.

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Players Mentioned

Gabriella Alves: Junior

Arielle Butler: Senior

Emily Faulkner: Junior

Laura Golubic: Junior

Piper Huey: Senior

Brittany Smyser: Junior

Milou Dalmolen: 5' 4"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Gabriella Alves
: Junior

Arielle Butler
: Senior

Emily Faulkner
: Junior

Laura Golubic
: Junior

Piper Huey
: Senior

Brittany Smyser
: Junior

Milou Dalmolen
: 5' 4"; Freshman