LADY VOLS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT, DROP MISSISSIPPI STATE, 6-1

Sunday, April 8

Starkville, MS

University of Tennessee

Mississippi State

LADY VOLS WIN THIRD STRAIGHT, DROP MISSISSIPPI STATE, 6-1

April 08, 2007 | Women's Tennis

April 8, 2007

Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The 24th-ranked University of Tennessee women's tennis team (11-8, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) completed the Magnolia State sweep Sunday afternoon with a dominating 6-1 victory over No. 75 Mississippi State (5-12, 1-9 SEC) at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss. Senior Victoria Jones' singles triumph improved her current win streak to seven in conference play and six overall.

"We went out and got the job done today" UT co-head coach Mike Patrick said. "Everyone on our team is gaining confidence with each day and we are very excited to be playing so well right now. We need to work hard in practice this week so that we can continue that success into our match against a great team in Georgia next Sunday."

The Big Orange continued its recent trend of doubles dominance, sweeping all three matches for the third consecutive contest. The Tennessee tandem of senior Blakeley Griffith and sophomore Samantha Orlin was the first to finish off its opponent, easily dispatching the MSU duo of Elna de Villiers and DeAndra Saddler, 8-1, at the No. 2 position.

The initial point of the match went UT's way soon thereafter, when the combination of freshmen Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsófia Zubor quickly downed the Lady Bulldog pairing of Martina Banikova and Valeriya Makarycheva, 8-2, on center court. The doubles sweep was completed by Jones and freshman Connor Vogel at the final spot in the lineup, as they claimed the last two points of their match to defeat Renee Joseph and Daniela Juskova, 8-6.

The momentum remained in the Orange and White's favor for the majority of the singles portion of the match as well, as they earned straight-set wins in five of the six contests. The lone defeat came after the outcome had been decided with Vogel retiring in the second set of her match against de Villiers, after winning the first in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3).

Prior to Vogel's retirement, the Lady Vols recorded three consecutive triumphs to ensure themselves the team victory. Whoriskey was the first individual to add a tally to the scoreboard for UT, as she cruised by Juskova, 6-1, 6-1, at three singles. Zubor was right on her heels, however, making quick work of Makarycheva, 6-3, 6-0, at the sixth position. Jones then became the sixth member of the UT squad to clinch a dual-match victory this season, defeating Saddler, 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 5 slot. The win marked her sixth straight and seventh in a row in conference play.

A pair of Orange and White netters rounded out the afternoon's scoring, as Orlin and Griffith picked up wins on the fourth and center courts, respectively. Orlin blew by Joseph, 6-3, 6-0, while the 35th-rated Griffith picked up her ninth victory of the season over a nationally-ranked opponent, taking out No. 71 Banikova, 6-3, 7-5.

The Lady Vols will finish off the regular-season portion of their schedule next weekend, when they return to Rocky Top to play host to No. 3 Georgia. The Big Orange will honor Jones and Griffith on "Senior Day," with first serve set for Noon on April 14 at the UT Varsity Courts.

No. 24 Tennessee Lady Vols 6, No. 75 Mississippi State University 1

SINGLES RESULTS
1.	No. 35 Blakeley Griffith (UT)	def.	No. 71 Martina Banikova (MS)	6-3, 7-5
2.	Elna de Villiers (MS)	def.	Connor Vogel (UT)	6-7 (3-12), 1-0, retired
3.	Caitlin Whoriskey (UT)	def.	Daniela Juskova (MS)	6-1, 6-1
4.	Samantha Orlin (UT)	def.	Renee Joseph (MS)	6-3, 6-0
5.	Vicky Jones (UT)	def.	DeAndra Saddler (MS)	6-0, 6-2
6.	Zsófia Zubor (UT)	def.	Valeriya Makarycheva (MS)	6-3, 6-0
DOUBLES RESULTS
1.	Caitlin Whoriskey/Zsófia Zubor (UT)	def.	Martina Banikova/Valeriya Makarycheva (MS)	8-2
2.	Samantha Orlin/Blakeley Griffith (UT)	def.	Elna de Villiers/DeAndra Saddler (MS)	8-1
3.	Vicky Jones/Connor Vogel (UT)	def.	Renee Joseph/Daniela Juskova (MS)	8-6