University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Wake Forest
Lady Vols Clipped by Wake, 4-3
February 03, 2008 | Women's Tennis
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Despite winning the doubles point for the fifth time in five matches this season, the No. 16 University of Tennessee women's tennis team (4-1) was unable to close out its match against 22nd-ranked Wake Forest (2-0) Sunday afternoon, falling 4-3 at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. Despite the loss, sophomore Caitlin Whoriskey remained perfect from the top singles position and earned her second win over a ranked opponent this season.
The Orange and White came out of the gates swinging, quickly staking claim to the doubles point with wins on the second and third courts. The Tennessee tandem of freshman Jennifer Meredith and junior Samantha Orlin got the ball rolling with an easy 8-4 triumph over the Wake Forest twosome of Emilee Malvehy and Jenna Loeb. Soon thereafter, senior Ghizela Schutte and freshman Rosal??a Alda gave UT the initial lead of the match, picking up an 8-6 decision over Christian Tara and Sierra Poske.
At the top spot, however, the No. 2-ranked Lady Vol pairing of sophomores Caitlin Whoriskey and Zs??fia Zubor dropped its first contest in dual-match play, falling 8-6 to the Demon Deacon duo of Alexandra Hirsch and Sasha Kulikova.
Zubor did not let the doubles loss carry into her play in singles action though, as she quickly dispatched of Malvehy, 6-3, 6-2, to give Tennessee a 2-0 lead in the match. Unfortunately, that would be the last UT tally on the scoreboard until it was too late, as Wake Forest rattled off singles wins in the next four contests to hand the Lady Vols their first loss of the season.
The first to fall was Orlin, as Tara closed out a 6-0, 7-6 (5) triumph on court three. The Deacs then tied the score at two-all with Poske taking out Meredith in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, at the fourth slot in the lineup. The third Wake Forest tally came on the second court, where Kulikova outlasted Schutte, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, to giver her squad its first lead of the afternoon.
With UT needing wins in both remaining singles contests, the match came down to Alda at the No. 6 position. Despite a valiant effort by the Round Rock, Texas, native, she was unable to finish off a dramatic comeback before falling in a third-set tiebreaker. Alda lost the initial frame, 7-6 (4) before rallying for a 6-3 win to tie the contest at a set apiece. In the final frame, she took a 6-5 lead, but Katarina Reveche bounced back to tie the set at six-all before winning the tiebreaker, 7-4.
With the outcome already decided, Whoriskey continued to battle against the 75th-ranked Hirsch on center court. The two players split the first two sets, with Whoriskey claiming the first in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4) and Hirsch the second, 6-4. They continued to fight hard in the final frame, eventually forcing the conclusion to be decided by another tiebreaker. Despite the even nature of the match before that point, Whoriskey wasted little time in claiming the victory, emerging triumphant in the tiebreaker, 7-1.
The Big Orange will take the next 12 days off from competitive action before returning to the courts on Friday, Feb. 15 against No. 30 Michigan at 4 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Mich. Later that weekend, UT will make the trip to Bloomington, Ind., where it will square off with 24th-rated Indiana at 10 a.m. on Feb. 17.
| No. 22 Wake Forest 4, No. 16 Tennessee 3 | |
| SINGLES RESULTS | |
| 1. Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) def. No. 75 Alexandra Hirsch (WF) | 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (1) |
| 2. Sasha Kulikova (WF) def. Ghizela Schutte (UT) | 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 |
| 3. Christian Tara (WF) def. Samantha Orlin (UT) | 6-0, 7-6 (5) |
| 4. Sierra Poske (WF) def. Jennifer Meredith (UT) | 6-1, 6-3 |
| 5. No. 95 Zs??fia Zubor (UT) def. Emilee Malvehy (WF) | 6-3, 6-2 |
| 6. Katarina Reveche (WF) def. Rosal??a Alda (UT) | 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (4) |
| DOUBLES RESULTS | |
| 1. Alexandra Hirsch/Sasha Kulikova (WF) def. No. 2 Caitlin Whoriskey/Zs??fia Zubor (UT) | 8-6 |
| 2. No. 26 Ghizela Schutte/Rosal??a Alda (UT) def. Christian Tara/Sierra Poske (WF) | 8-6 |
| 3. Jennifer Meredith/Samantha Orlin (UT) def. Emilee Malvehy/Jenna Loeb (WF) | 8-4 |
| Match Notes: | |
| Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,4,2,6,1) | |
Players Mentioned
