Stephenson and Bentley Shine for Alabama Women's Tennis
3/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
 |
|
Tuscaloosa, Ala.— Sophomore co-captains Robin Stephenson and Ashley Bentley continued their perfect Southeastern Conference play for the Alabama women’s tennis squad, knocking off the No. 2 and No. 26 ranked players in the nation in a losing effort against Florida in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.
The No. 28 (ITA) Crimson Tide (9-5, 5-2 SEC) became the first team to score more than a point on the 13-0 Gators this season. Florida, 6-0 in the conference, has won 30 straight matches dating back to last year.
In singles, 50th-ranked Stephenson scored a straight-set win over Florida’s Alexis Gordon, who is ranked No. 2 in the nation. Stephenson has beaten the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked singles players (at the time of the match) in collegiate tennis and has won her last six singles matches. She has won six straight singles matches.
At the No. 2 singles position, Bentley defeated Florida’s 26th-ranked Jennifer Magley in three sets, 6-3, 0-6, 6-3. Bentley has won 12 consecutive singles matches for the Crimson Tide.
Bentley and Stephenson also paired for the Tide’s only doubles win, a 9-8 victory over ninth-ranked Gordon and Julie Rotondi. The Tide’s No. 1 doubles tandem is 6-0 in SEC play and have won their last eight matches.
“There are a lot of positives we can take from this match,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “We won three matches against them. That is more than anyone else has done all season.
“I think our program took a step forward today. We’ve put ourselves in a good position in the SEC West, but we still have a lot of work to do. I know I’ve said it all year, but this team’s biggest strength is its heart. They show up and fight every match.”
Alabama will be on the road for their next four matches beginning Friday at 2:30 p.m. against No. 4 Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Tide will then face 15th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday at noon in Lexington.
Complete Match Results Follow:
No. 3 Florida 5, No. 28 Alabama 2
Doubles:
Stephenson/Bentley (UA) d. No. 9 Gordon/Rotondi (UF), 9-8
No. 34 Magley/Reyes (UF) d. Begovic/Minor (UA), 8-4
Suvak/Berecz (UF) d. Koppelle/Muller (UA), 8-6
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles:
No. 50 Robin Stephenson (UA) d. No. 2 Alexis Gordon (UF), 6-4, 7-6 (11)
Ashley Bentley (UA) d. No. 26 Jennifer Magley (UF), 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
No. 58 Zerene Reyes (UF) d. Nathalie Koppelle (UA), 6-2, 6-0
Boglarka Berecz (UF) d. Millie Begovic (UA), 7-5, 6-3
Lindsay Dawaf (UF) d. Melissa Minor (UA), 6-1, 6-3*
Nina Suvak (UF) d. Mari Muller (UA), 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 1
*Clinched Match
