NEW ORLEANS, La. — A program first pushed Charlotte’s winning streak to seven matches on Saturday.

The 49ers’ 4-1 neutral-site win over No. 56 Rice was their first in the series after five losses to open it. It came a day after they downed Tulane, also 4-1, to push their overall record to 12-3.

“Rice has always been a difficult team for us to beat – they’re strong players and well coached,” head coach Anthony Davison said. “Today we tried to make it about physicality and sticking to game plans – and managed that really well. We’re very proud of the effort this trip and can’t wait to compete next weekend.” 

Against Tulane, Ni Xi opened singles play with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Campbell Ricci, and Sara Suchankova followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Leigh Van Zyl.

Yelyzaveta Chainykova added another point for the 49ers with a 6-4, 6-3 result over Micah Pierce, while Paula Dougherty fell to Natalia Fantini 6-4, 6-0.

In doubles play, the No. 24-ranked duo of Xi and Suchankova rolled to a 6-0 win over Ricci and Summer Chandler, and the pair of Shona Nakano and Andrea Chacon earned a 6-4 victory against Van Zyl and Pierce.

Tulane’s Natalia Perez and Fantini took the remaining doubles match with a 6-1 win over Lucia Aranda and Chainykova.

Charlotte followed with a 4-1 win over Rice. In doubles, Chacon and Nakano defeated Ema Mravcova and Divna Ratkovic 6-3, while Prisca Abbas and Aranda secured a 6-4 victory over Uma Bakaityte and Daniela Chica.

In singles, Nakano posted a 6-1, 6-2 win over Bakaityte, and Aranda added a 7-5, 6-1 victory against Francesca Maguina. Abbas also earned a point for the 49ers with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Fernanda Martinez, while Rice’s lone point came from Mravcova, who defeated Chainykova 6-1, 6-2.

Up Next

Charlotte has a tough stretch coming up, facing three matches in as many days at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex.

The 49ers welcome Georgia Tech and UConn on Friday at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, before facing Penn State on Monday at noon. They were originally scheduled to play the Nittany Lions at ITA Kickoff Weekend before weather intervened.