University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Middle Tennessee State
Tennis Dismantles MTSU 7-0 in Opener
January 18, 2008 | Women's Tennis
Box Score
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? The 22nd-ranked University of Tennessee women???s tennis team opened the 2008 spring season in grand style, defeating Middle Tennessee, 7-0, Friday night at the Goodfriend Tennis Center in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady Vols swept all nine matches and dropped just one set on the evening. The victory improves co-head coach Mike Patrick???s record in home openers to an astounding 20-1 during his tenure at Tennessee.
???For a first match, this was a very exciting win,??? UT co-head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick said. ???I was really pleased with how our team came together both chemistry and performance-wise tonight. We really seemed to take the match to Middle Tennessee instead of waiting for them to come to us and that was a really good sign as we get ready to take on North Carolina on Monday.???
The doubles portion of the contest lasted less than an hour, as the Lady Vols took the initial lead of the match with three quick victories. The Tennessee tandem of sophomores Caitlin Whoriskey and Zs??fia Zubor showed why it is ranked No. 2 in the nation, as it was the first to finish off its opponent, claiming an 8-2 triumph over the Blue Raider duo of Marlene Chemin and Ann-Kristin Siljestrom.
Shortly thereafter, the 26th-ranked pairing of senior Ghizela Schutte and freshman Rosal??a Alda followed suit with an 8-2 triumph of their own, downing Shannon Hartmann and Claudia Szabo. The UT duo of sophomore Connor Vogel and freshman Jennifer Meredith closed out doubles play with a solid showing as well, defeating Stephanie Parkison and Andrea Herrera, 8-4.
The momentum clearly carried over into singles play, where the Lady Vols were utterly dominant. The top four players for UT combined to stake claim to the first 16 points that were played and dropped just five points total in their collective first sets. Playing at the No. 1 position for the first time in her young career, Whoriskey made it clear that she deserved to be there, easily dispatching Parkison, 6-0, 6-1.
The Big Orange scored its third point of the match just moments later when Schutte finished off her victory over Hartmann, 6-2, 6-2, on the second court. The match-clinching win belonged to Meredith, who earned her first career dual-match triumph at the fourth slot in the lineup over Siljestrom, 6-0, 6-2.
With the match already in hand and junior Samantha Orlin???s showdown with Szabo tied after the first two sets, the two players headed into a tiebreaker to decide the outcome. After falling behind, 4-6, Orlin was able to bounce back to claim the contest, 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7), and earn her team-best 11th win on the season.
In the evening???s final two competitions, Zubor and Alda finished off the clean sweep for Tennessee on the fifth and sixth courts, respectively. A native of Round Rock, Texas, Alda took down Herrera with ease, 6-0, 6-1, before the 95th-ranked Zubor rounded out the Big Orange???s 7-0 victory with a straight-set, 6-4, 6-3, win over Chemin.
The Orange and White will be back in action Monday afternoon when No. 12 North Carolina makes the trip to Rocky Top for a 1 p.m. contest. Following that match, UT will begin preparations to host a pair of Big Ten squads in Illinois and No. 49 Purdue on Jan. 26th and 27th, respectively.
No. 22 University of Tennessee 7, Middle Tennessee 0
| SINGLES | ||||
| 1. | Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) | def. | Stephanie Parkison (MT) | 6-1, 6-0 |
| 2. | Ghizela Schutte (UT) | def. | Shannon Hartmann (MT) | 6-2, 6-2 |
| 3. | Samantha Orlin (UT) | def. | Claudia Szabo (MT) | 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) |
| 4. | Jennifer Meredith (UT) | def. | Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT) | 6-0, 6-2 |
| 5. | No. 95 Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | def. | Marlene Chemin (MT) | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 6. | Rosal??a Alda (UT) | def. | Andrea Herrera (MT) | 6-0, 6-1 |
| DOUBLES | ||||
| 1. | No. 2 Caitlin Whoriskey/Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | def. | Marlene Chemin/Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT) | 8-2 |
| 2. | No. 26 Ghizela Schutte/Rosal??a Alda (UT) | def. | Shannon Hartmann/Claudia Szabo (MT) | 8-2 |
| 3. | Connor Vogel/Jennifer Meredith (UT) | def. | Stephanie Parkison/Andrea Herrera (MT) | 8-4 |
Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee ??? 0-1
No. 22 University of Tennessee ??? 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,4,3,6,5)
