The Clark Atlanta University tennis team opened their season with a big win under new coach CAU alumna Tara Turner.

The Lady Panthers defeated Shorter University 4-3 at CAU Tennis Courts Wednesday, the program's third non-conference victory since 2015 and the second-year consecutive year that CAU tennis has earned a non-conference victory. 

Last season, the Lady Panthers defeated the University of West Georgia 5-4, and then Point University 7-2. Before that, the last non-conference win for the program was in March 2015 when they defeated Point University.

Wednesday, Turner led her team in her first match as head coach.  Turner, a stalwart tennis player at Clark Atlanta from 2005-2009, saw two of her top returning players have big days.
2018 All-SIAC singles player Akilah Parker defeated Anaelle Marchand 0-6, 6-2, 6-4 in singles competition, and then she teamed with Alexis Fletcher to defeat Shorter's Tori Overby and Alana Mulkey 6-2 in doubles.  Fletcher also defeated Mulkey in singles, 6-3, 6-1.

Also picking up a singles win was Vanessa Eusebio, another All-SIAC singles player in 2018, as she defeated Tori Overby 6-4, 6-1.  Madison Majors, a freshman in her first match as a Lady Panthers, teamed with last season's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, Nicola Ramdyhan, to defeat Marchand and Emily Wilson 6-2. 

The Lady Panthers will return to CAU Tennis Courts to host Point University on Tuesday, Feb. 19^th at 11 a.m.