HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – It was a historic opening day at the Atlantic Sun Conference Beach Championship on Thursday for EKU, earning its first tournament win in program history.
After falling to No. 3-seed FGCU, 4-1, the Colonels bounced back to defeat No. 7-seed Central Arkansas, 3-0.
"What a day for our program," said head coach Jeff Patton. "The way the girls responded after a tough battle in the first dual would make any coach proud. Getting that first ASUN tournament win is such a great accomplishment for these girls, and let's see tomorrow if we can keep it rolling."
The win marked the 50
th victory for Patton in his time leading EKU.
The Colonels await to see who they will play at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow, they will play the loser of Stetson and North Alabama.
EKU 3, Central Arkansas 0
It was all EKU against the Bears, as the Colonels did not drop a single set in the win.
At the 5's,
Elpida Pitsigkoni and
Bella Williams got things started, rolling in their match, 21-19, 21-9 to put the Colonels up, 1-0 in the dual.
One court over,
Reagan Sandlin and E.K. Lonergan put EKU on match point with a 21-19, 21-9 victory at the 4's.
After every EKU pair took the first set in the top-three flights,
Gabriella Armitage and
Rachel Mueller were the duo to seal the historic victory, winning at the 2's, 21-14, 21-18.
At the 3's, Cutler and Richardson won the first set, 21-15, and were up 18-11 at the time of the match's end.
In the top flight,
Molly Shomock &
Paityn Walker took the first set, 21-18, and led 16-15 in the second.
FGCU 4, EKU 1
The Colonels started strong against the No. 18 team in the country as Pitsigkoni and Williams and Lonergan, and Sandlin took the first sets at the 4's and 5's.
However, the Eagles won the 3's, 21-12, 21-14, the 2's, 21-16, 21-11, and the 1's, 21-12, 21-14.
At the 5's, Pitsigkoni and Williams fought through three sets, but fell 18-21, 21-13, 15-13.
Sandlin and Lonergan got the Colonels' lone point in the match at the 4's, winning in three sets, 21-16, 15-21, 17-15.
