SEC Second Round Ahead for Tide Women's Tennis
4/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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Nashville, Tenn. — Fresh off their opening round shutout of Auburn, the seventh seeded Alabama women's tennis team is set to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in the second round of the 2004 SEC Tournament Friday at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
The No. 3 (ITA) Commodores (20-2, 10-1 SEC/2nd East) are the second seed in the tournament and defeated the Tide 7-0 on March 26 in Nashville. It was the only time Alabama was shut out all season, and head coach Jenny Mainz says the team has not forgotten that match.
"Getting another shot at Vanderbilt is something we (the team) have talked about," Mainz said. "We felt we played them close the first time but didn't do some of the things we wanted to do. Yesterday's win against Auburn was a big boost for our confidence and we are very excited about getting another chance to play Vanderbilt."
The No. 32 Tide (13-9, 5-6 SEC/2nd West) beat Auburn on Thursday behind strong doubles play and three, two-set singles wins. Sophomores Ashley Bentley and Robin Stephenson, the No. 19 doubles team in the country, defeated Auburn's Carolina Ramirez and Petra Bercik 8-4 at No. 1 and will face Vanderbilt's No. 3 (ITA) Aleke Tsoubanos and Kelly Schmandt. The Commodore pair defeated Bentley and Stephenson 8-4 on March 26.
"Our girls are excited about this opportunity," Mainz said. "This is a culmination of the experience we have gained this year."
The match is scheduled for 3 p.m. and fans can follow the action by clicking on the SEC Tourney Update link on the women's tennis page of www.rolltide.com.
