ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Cameron women's tennis could not overcome an early deficit as they lost 4-0 to the 6-seed Columbus State in the opening round of the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament on Tuesday.
 
Cameron earned a spot in the National Tournament with a 4-1 win over Angelo State in the South Central Regional last week. Their reward was a rematch against the sixth ranked Cougars, who they defeated 5-2 earlier this spring, with a spot in the Elite 8 on the line at the Sanlando Park Tennis Center.
 
The Cougars came out and took care of business in doubles to take a 1-0 lead. The 12th ranked duo of Valentina Abrile and Mariana Ramirez took down CU's 10th ranked pair of Anastasia Uspenskaia and Magda Wawrowska 6-2 at one. 
 
CSU then got a 6-1 win at two over Vasilisa Polunova and Karolina Glowinska to earn the point. Lea Manga and Kateryna Rudenko trailed 5-4 before the doubles win halted their match. 
 
In singles, Columbus State got off to a quick start with a 6-1, 6-0 win at five over CU's Wawrowska and then a 6-3, 6-2 win at three over Manga at two to take a 3-0 lead. 
 
Cameron tried to mount a comeback as Julianne Garcia won set one 7-5 at six and Polunova bounced back from a set one loss with a 7-6 (7-4) win in set two at one, but CSU finished off the Aggies with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Uspenskaia at two to claim the match 4-0. 
 
The Cougars advance to the next round to face the 3-seed University of Indy on Wednesday afternoon. 
 
Cameron ends the season with a 21-6 overall record but head coach Josh Cobble will head into the offseason with a lot to build on, losing just one player to graduation and returning everyone that played in Tuesday's match.