University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Ole Miss
No. 23 UT Edges Ole Miss 4-3
February 29, 2008 | Women's Tennis
Box Score??
OXFORD, Miss. ??? With yet another spectacular comeback, the No. 23 University of Tennessee women???s tennis team (7-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) opened the league portion of its schedule with a 4-3 victory over Ole Miss (4-5, 0-1 SEC), Friday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford, Miss. The match is the Lady Vols??? fifth consecutive contest to be decided by a single point.
Sophomore Connor Vogel clinched the win for UT at the fifth singles position, finishing off a comeback from a 3-2 deficit with a thrilling, three-set, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, triumph over Mimi Renaudin.
Prior to the match-clinching victory, the Big Orange earned the doubles point for the eighth time in nine matches this season, claiming wins on the second and third courts. Playing indoors due to inclement weather, the UT duo of senior Ghizela Schutte and freshman Rosal??a Alda was the first to complete its match, opening the day with an 8-3 win over the Ole Miss pairing of Laura van de Stroet and Renaudin from the second spot in the lineup.
Just moments later, however, the Rebels tied it up at one win each, with the team of Nika Kourkhartchouk and Karen Nijssen scoring an upset over the No. 2-ranked Tennessee tandem of Caitlin Whoriskey and Zs??fia Zubor, 8-6, on center court. With the all-important doubles point set to be awarded to the winner on court three, Vogel and freshman Jennifer Meredith gave the Orange and White the initial lead of the match, downing Soledad Podlipnik and Preethi Subramanian, 8-5.
Unfortunately for Lady Vol fans, UT was unable to carry the momentum from doubles play over into singles action as Ole Miss went ahead 2-1 in almost no time at all with wins at the second and third positions. Nijssen put up the first tally for the Rebels with a 6-4, 6-3, triumph over No. 90 Zubor, while van de Stroet took out junior Samantha Orlin in a hard-fought match, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
Meredith stopped the bleeding for Tennessee with an easy, 6-0, 6-1, victory over Subramanian at the fourth slot in the lineup, but Ole Miss answered right back with Kourkhartchouk defeating Schutte, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, on center court to move within one point of winning the match.
Facing defeat if they were unable to win the final two contests of the day, UT was able to mount yet another stunning comeback, coming from behind to claim victory for the third consecutive match. Alda got the ball rolling for the Big Orange, taking down Podlipnik, 6-2, 6-3, on court six to set up Vogel???s heroics.
The Lady Vols will close out a season-long, six-match road trip this Sunday, when they finish their tour of the Magnolia State in Starkville against Mississippi State. First serve for that contest is set for 2 p.m. ET at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
| No. 23 University of Tennessee 4, Ole Miss 3 | ||||
| SINGLES?? | ||||
| 1. | Nika Kourkhartchouk (OM) | def. | Ghizela Schutte (UT) | 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 2. | Karen Nijssen (OM) | def. | No. 90 Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 3. | Laura van de Stroet (OM) | def. | Samantha Orlin (UT) | 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 |
| 4. | Jennifer Meredith (UT) | def. | Preethi Subramanian (OM) | 6-0, 6-1 |
| 5. | Connor Vogel (UT) | def. | Mimi Renaudin (OM) | 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 |
| 6. | Rosal??a Alda (UT) | def. | Soledad Podlipnik (OM) | 6-2, 6-3 |
| DOUBLES?? | ||||
| 1. | Nika Kourkhartchouk/Karen Nijssen (OM) | def. | No. 2 Caitlin Whoriskey/Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | 8-6 |
| 2. | Ghizela Schutte/Rosal??a Alda (UT) | def. | Laura van de Stroet/Mimi Renaudin (OM) | 8-3 |
| 3. | Connor Vogel/Jennifer Meredith (UT) | def. | Soledad Podlipnik/Preethi Subramanian (OM) | 8-5 |
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,3,4,1,6,5)
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