LYNCHBURG, VA — Jon Isner and Nicolas Mahut have nothing on Janie Campbell (Fredericksburg, VA/James Monroe) and Betsy Stipa. The two took four calendar days to finish their No. 3 singles match but a furious comeback from Campbell lifted the Randolph College women's tennis team past Lynchburg College 5-4 in league play.
The match, which started on Wednesday afternoon, came down to the No. 3 singles match. Campbell fell behind early on, and dropped the first set 3-6. In the second set, Campbell and Stipa as well as No. 4 singles were suspended due to darkness with Lynchburg College leading the match 4-3.
The next day, Randolph's Kaitlyn Kolster (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan) finished off her opponent with scores of one and one to tie the match for Randolph at four. Unfortunately, darkness again set in at No. 3 singles, forcing another suspension to Friday afternoon. Heavy rains in Lynchburg pushed back the match to Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m.
Campbell, down 4-2 at one point in the second set, rallied to take the second set 6-4 thanks to some very good ground strokes. In the super tiebreaker, both Stipa and Campbell held leads but a late push by Campbell lifted her to a 10-8 win in the breaker, clinching the first win for Randolph this season.
"It was more of a mental battle than anything else," said Campbell. "I really wanted this match bad and I gave it my all and luckily I came out on top." Campbell returned to the WildCats this season as a senior after a year hiatus from the squad.
Lynchburg (0-2) led 2-1 after doubles play, as first-year players Anna Culpepper (Midlothian, VA/Midlothian) and Patricia Verdezoto (Cuenza, Azuay, Ecuador/Bilingue Interamericano)paired at No. 1 doubles to get an 8-4 victory.
In singles play, Randolph got wins by both Culpepper and Verdezoto at No. 2 and No. 1 singles, respectively. Culpepper won in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, while Verdezoto won her first collegiate singles match 7-5, 6-0. That would set up the heroics by Kolster and Campbell down the stretch.
"It was a tough situation for both players and both competed well," said head coach Jamie Megginson. "Janie was able to pull it out in the end and in result got the team a league victory."
Randolph now will have a quick turnaround, especially for Campbell, as the WildCats entertain Bluefield College at 2 p.m. Saturday on the Randolph Tennis Courts.
