CHARLESTON, W. Va. – The University of Charleston Women's Tennis team defeated crosstown rival West Virginia State in the NCAA Atlantic Region semifinals match on Monday afternoon, downing the Yellow Jackets 4-2.
 
In their second matchup in the last week and a half, Charleston came out strong against the Yellow Jackets and secured the doubles point. After West Virginia State secured the match at #2 and the #1 pairing of Prinkle Singh and Julia Lif came out on top of Soloman/Melo 7-5. With the advantage coming down to #3 doubles, Meggan William/Haarini Balakrishnan took the final two games, breaking a 5-5 tie to capture a 7-5 win and an early 1-0 lead for the Golden Eagles.
 
Headed to singles, Gaya Solomon earned a point for the Yellow Jackets after Katie Swann retired due to injury. AlexiAnn Drouin then earned a point for the Golden Eagles to retake the lead after taking the match in straight sets from Melo, 6-3, 6-2.
 
The Yellow Jackets tied the match once again at 2-2 after Kruhlova defeated Barbera Balancho in straight sets, winning 7-5, 6-2.
 
From there, it was the Golden Eagles who would go on to score the next two points to claim a place in the Atlantic Region final with a 4-2 victory. At #5 singles, Haarini Balakrishnan defeated Maya Haidari 6-4, 6-4 to take a 3-1 lead in the match before Julia Lif clinched the match with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) win for the Golden Eagles.
 
Prinkle Swann did not finish her match against Abigail Wild at #1, but Wild was up 5-2 in the final set at the time the match was clinched at #6
 
Coach Alec Foote stated how proud he was of the team following the match by stating, "Doubles was a huge point for us to set the tone for the match. The experience of AlexiAnn (Drouin) and Haarini (Balakrishnan) really helped us today in a big way with their performance on the court, as well as their support of the team. Also, Julia (Lif) really came through with the deciding point and we are excited to get back on the court tomorrow"
 
Doubles Results:
1. Singh/Lif (UCWV) def. Soloman/Melo (WVSU) 7-5
2. Wild/Moore (WVSU) def. Swann/Drouin (UCWV) 6-2
3. William/Balakrishnan (UCWV) def. Haidari/Kruhlova (WVSU) 7-5
 
Singles Results:
1.Singh (UCWV) vs. Wild (WVSU) DNF
2. Soloman (WVSU) def. Swann (UCWV), retired due to injury
3. Drouin (UCWV) def. Melo (WVSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Kruhlova (WVSU) def. Balancho (UCWV) 7-5, 6-2
5. Balakrishnan (UCWV) def. Haidari (WVSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Lif (UCWV) def. Moore (WVSU) 7-5, 7-6(3)