University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Virginia
No. 23 Tennis Nets 4-3 Win over Virginia
February 24, 2008 | Women's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ??? Although it needed a late comeback for the second consecutive contest, the No. 23 University of Tennessee women???s tennis team (6-2) was able to edge out a 4-3 victory over 53rd-ranked Virginia (5-4), Sunday afternoon at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar???s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
For the seventh time in eight matches this season, the Lady Vols were able to claim the all-important doubles point, winning at the first and third spots in the lineup. The Cavaliers, however, struck the first blow in tandem play, as the UT duo of senior Ghizela Schutte and freshman Rosal??a Alda fell for just the second time in dual-match play, dropping an 8-4 decision to the UVA pairing of Maggie Yahner and Lindsey Pereira.
UT bounced right back though, with sophomore Connor Vogel and??freshman Jennifer Meredith teaming up to post a hard-fought, 8-6, triumph over the Cavalier combo of Jennifer Stevens and Hampton Williams at the No. 3 position.
The Orange and White was then able to put up the first tally on the scoreboard with the No. 2-ranked pairing in the nation of sophomores Caitlin Whoriskey and Zs??fia Zubor moving its record to 18-4 on the season with a decisive 8-4 win against the Virginia tandem of Amanda Rales and Lara Alexander on center court.
Carrying the momentum from her doubles victory into her singles contest, Vogel quickly put Tennessee up 2-0, as she easily dispatched UVA???s Cathy Nimitz, 6-2, 6-0, on the sixth court. That would prove to be UT???s last point for a while, however, as the Cavaliers erased the Orange and White lead with a three consecutive wins in singles play.
The first to get Virginia on the scoreboard was Pereira who cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, triumph over UT junior Samantha Orlin at the third slot in the lineup. Shortly thereafter, Rales became the first player this spring to defeat the 66th-ranked Whoriskey, doing so by the score of 6-4, 6-1, on the center court. The loss snapped the Boca Raton, Fla., product???s perfect 7-0 record in dual-match play this year. Just moments later, Yahner gave Virginia its first lead of the day at 3-2, with a straight-set, 6-3, 6-4, win over No. 90 Zubor on court four.
Needing wins in the day???s final two matches, the outcome looked grim for the Lady Vols. Much like last week against Indiana, however, they proved to be more than up to the challenge. Meredith returned the contest to a deadlock at 3-3, trouncing Alexander, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 5 singles to set up a match-deciding contest on the second court, where Schutte and Stevens were squaring off.
Despite falling behind early, Schutte never gave up. The South Africa native dropped her first set to Stevens in a tiebreaker, 6-7 (5) and was trailing 3-0 in the second frame before collecting herself and mounting a sensational comeback. Schutte would dominate the final two sets, winning by scores of 6-4 and 6-3, respectively, en route to her 10th singles victory and first match-clinching win of the season.
The Big Orange will now begin preparations for its initial weekend of SEC action, as the Lady Vols will close out a season-long six-match road trip with a pair of contests in the Magnolia State next weekend. The Orange and White will first face Ole Miss at 3 p.m. ET in Oxford, Miss, on Fri., Feb. 28, before traveling to Starkville, Miss., for a 2 p.m. ET showdown with No. 75 Mississippi State.
No. 23 Tennessee 4, No. 53 Virginia 3
| SINGLES RESULTS | ||||
| 1. | Amanda Rales (UVA) | def. | No. 66 Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) | 6-4, 6-1 |
| 2. | Ghizela Schutte (UT) | def. | Jennifer Stevens (UVA) | 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 |
| 3. | Lindsey Pereira (UVA) | def. | Samantha Orlin (UT) | 6-0, 6-2 |
| 4. | Maggie Yahner (UVA) | def. | No. 90 Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| 5. | Jennifer Meredith (UT) | def. | Lara Alexander (UVA) | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 6. | Connor Vogel (UT) | def. | Cathy Nimitz (UVA) | 6-2, 6-0 |
| DOUBLES RESULTS | ||||
| 1. | No. 2 Whoriskey/Zubor (UT) | def. | Rales/Alexander (UVA) | 8-4 |
| 2. | Yahner/Pereira (UVA) | def. | Alda/Schutte (UT) | 8-4 |
| 3. | Vogel/Meredith (UT) | def. | Stevens/Williams (UVA) | 8-6 |
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,3,1,4,5,2)
