University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Ole Miss
UT Defeats Ole Miss, 5-2
April 03, 2011 | Women's Tennis
April 3, 2011
By Donnie Conley, Media Relations Student Assistant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 16-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team won its fifth consecutive match, topping No. 27 Ole Miss, 5-2, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.
UT co-head coach Mike Patrick expected a hard-fought match today and that's exactly what the Rebels delivered.
"We have had a lot of good battles with Ole Miss in the last few years," Patrick said. "They came in and played us tough. Both teams were competing everywhere and we were lucky to get out on top. This was a good match and good preparation for us going forward."
Tennessee (15-4, 7-0) was able to take the doubles point for the 15th time this season. The Lady Vols are 13-2 when doing so.
In singles, UT got on the board first with a 7-5, 6-2 win by Maria Sorbello at No. 5 singles. Kata Szekely made the score 3-0 with a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win over Laura van de Stroet.
Millie Nichols clinched the victory for the Orange and White for the third time this season, defeating Vivian Vlaar, 6-3, 6-4.
After dropping matches at No. 1 and 3 singles, Rosalía Alda rallied for a three-set victory over Connor Vogel to make the final score 5-2.
Alda, Sorbello and Szekely each own five-match singles winning streaks. Szekely and senior Jennifer Meredith extended their doubles winning streak to 17 with an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
Patrick hopes that today's contest proves beneficial to the squad going forward.
"Hopefully we learned something from today," Patrick said. "We have to come out an assert ourselves. No one is going to give anything to us; we're going to have to take it from them. We need to be a little bit tougher, especially with our toughest competition ahead."
UT hits the road for a pair of matches against ranked foes as it travels to No. 38 South Carolina on Friday before taking on No. 2 Florida on Sunday in Gainesville. First serve for the USC match is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
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#16 Tennessee 5, #27 Ole Miss 2
Singles competition
1. #30 Kristi Boxx (MISS) def. #31 Natalie Pluskota (TENN) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 1-0 (10-4)
2. #94 Rosalía Alda (TENN) def. #119 Connor Vogel (MISS) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. Caroline Rohde-Moe (MISS) def. #37 Brynn Boren (TENN) 6-3, 7-5
4. Kata Szekely (TENN) def. Laura van de Stroet (MISS) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1)
5. Maria Sorbello (TENN) def. Abby Guthrie (MISS) 7-5, 6-2
6. Millie Nichols (TENN) def. Vivian Vlaar (MISS) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #23 Kristi Boxx/Abby Guthrie (MISS) def. #17 Rosalía Alda/Millie Nichols (TENN) 8-7 (8-6)
2. #44 Natalie Pluskota/Brynn Boren (TENN) def. Connor Vogel/Gabby Rangel (MISS) 8-4
3. Kata Szekely/Jennifer Meredith (TENN) def. Vivian Vlaar/Caroline Rohde-Moe (MISS) 8-1
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 9-8, 2-6; National ranking #27
Tennessee 15-4, 7-0; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,4,6,3,1,2)
Players Mentioned
