University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
VCU
TENNESSEE GETS PAST VCU FOR FIRST FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE
May 17, 2002 | Women's Tennis
May 17, 2002
| FINAL FOUR ACTION Tennessee vs. Florida May 18, 2002 5:00 p.m. ET |
PALO ALTO, Calif.
The University of Tennessee Lady Volunteer tennis team advanced to its first ever NCAA Final Four appearance on Friday with a 4-3 triumph over unseeded Virginia Commonwealth. The 13th-seeded Lady Vols came from behind to capture its 21st win of season and become the third Southeastern Conference school in the national semifinals. UT will face Florida at 2 p.m. (PT) on Saturday at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. while Georgia meets Stanford at 11 a.m. (PT).
"This is such an important step for our program," said co-head coach Mike Patrick. "For the second straight match we had just the right people step up at the perfect time. I am so proud of this team and the heart and determination they are playing with."
In doubles, the Lady Vol fell behind as Kim Gates and Alison Ojeda dropped the No. 2 tilt to Silvia Urickova and Barbora Zahnova, 8-2. Crystal Cleveland and Breanna Kray leveled the contest by taking an 8-3 triumph on court three, but soon after Vilmarie Castellvi and Agnes Wiski fell at the No. 1 slot to put Tennessee behind 1-0 heading into singles.
With a seemingly uphill battle ahead of them Tennessee charged into the singles portion of the match by claiming the first set in five of the six contests. Cleveland finished off Cristina Gago with a 6-1, 6-2 decision on court five to knot the match at one point apiece. Soon after, Zahnova got the better of Wiski to give Virginia Commonwealth a 2-1 advantage.
The match became tied again when freshman Ashley Robards captured a 6-3, 6-4 triumph on court six. Castellvi broke the tie by dealing No. 38 Andrea Ondrisova a 6-4, 6-3 setback on court one. VCU pulled even once again when Urickova came from behind to take a 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 decision from Gates on court three. With the match resting on the outcome on court two, Ojeda survived a second-set comeback from Martina Nedelkova to punch the Orange and White's ticket. After grabbing the first set, 6-2, Ojeda dropped the second stanza 4-6. The senior then broke Nedelkova in the first game of the final set and cruised from there to seal the Lady Vols' fate with a 6-2 triumph.
The win improves UT's record to 21-9, while VCU falls to 20-3. The Lady Vols and top-seeded Florida, now 22-1, last met on April 5 when the Gators blanked Tennessee, 7-0. The Orange and White have never won against UF, who holds a 23-0 advantage in the overall series.
| AGATE RESULTS | ||
| TENNESSEE 4, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH 3 | ||
| Doubles | ||
| No. 1 | Ondrisova/Nedelkova (V) d. #17 Castellvi/Wiski (T) | 8-5 |
| No. 2 | Urickova/Zahnova (V) d. Gates/Ojeda (T) | 8-5 |
| No. 3 | Cleveland/Kray (T) d. #25 Ondrisova/Nedelkova (V) | 8-3 |
| Order of finish: 2, 3, 1 | ||
| Singles | ||
| No. 1 | #9 Vilmarie Castellvi (T) d. #38 Andrea Ondrisova (V) | 6-4, 6-3 |
| No. 2 | #29 Alison Ojeda (T) d. #39 Martina Nedelkova (V) | 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 |
| No. 3 | Silvia Urickova (V) d. #110 Kim Gates (T) | 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 |
| No. 4 | Barbora Zahnova (V) d. Agnes Wiski (T) | 7-5, 6-2 |
| No. 5 | Crystal Cleveland (T) v. Cristina Gago (V) | 6-1, 6-2 |
| No. 6 | Ashley Robards (T) d. Jana Carollo (V) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| Order of finish: 5, 4, 6, 1, 3, 2 | ||
