Muller and Godwin Pull Off Upset at ITA Regionals
10/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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Four Alabama athletes remain alive at the ITA Southern Regional Championships after two days of competition.
The Crimson Tide's big duo of Robin Stephenson and Ashley Bentley advanced in singles and doubles and the doubles team of Mari Muller and freshman Shelley Godwin won twice to advance into the quarterfinals.
Muller and Godwin pulled the upset of the tournament so far by defeating No. 4 seed Illona Sommers and Virginia Tomatis of Ole Miss 9-7. Muller and Godwin faced deficits of 4-1 and 6-3 in the match, but staved off elimination and fought back to pull the upset. Muller and Godwin then won again in the second round 8-3 and advance.
"Our theme coming here this weekend was to outwork our opponents for every point and be willing to play the extra ball," Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. "We did that today. We played the bigger points."
Third-seeded Stephenson and Bentley won as expected in the opening round, defeating Olga Ruizslova and Martina Strussova 8-0. Georgia Tech's Kelly Anderson and Whitney McCray pushed the Tide's heralded duo close to the edge in the Round of 16, but Stephenson and Bentley pulled out a 9-7 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
In singles, Bentley, the tournament's No. 6 seed, overcame early struggles and stormed back to win a three-set match with Georgia Tech's Christy Striplin, sister of Alabama men's player Taylor Striplin, and advance to Saturday's quarterfinal. Top-seeded Stephenson received a day off after her opponent withdrew with an injury.
Bentley dropped the opening set in her match with Striplin 6-2, but then embarked on a roll that saw her win 12 of the final 19 games and to claim her second consecutive three-set victory at the Championships. Three of Bentley's five wins this season have come in three-sets.
Saturday will be a big day for those remaining in the tournament. The quarterfinals and the semifinals will be played in singles as well as the quarterfinals in doubles. The action gets under way at 9 a.m. CST. For more information on the tournament, visit www.georgiadogs.com.
Friday's Results
Singles
"A" Main Draw
Robin Stephenson (UA) d. Courtney Vernon (USF), default
Ashley Bentley (UA) d. Christy Striplin (GT), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
"A" Consolation Draw
Sziliva Zsaka (GSU) d. Natalie McElveen (UA), 6-3, 0-6, 10-1
"B" Main Draw
Claudia Strauss (Troy) d. Andrea Brenes (UA), 7-5, 6-4
Doubles
"A" Main Draw
Robin Stephenson/Ashley Bentley (UA) d. Olga Ruizslova/Matina Strussova (BCC), 8-0
Mari Muller/Shelley Godwin (UA) d. Illona Sommers/Virginia Tomatis (UM), 9-7
Subatima/Ivanov (UGA) d. Andrea Brenes/Natalie McElveen (UA), 8-5
Robin Stephenson/Ashley Bentley (UA) d. Kelly Anderson/Whitney McCray (GT), 9-7
Mari Muller/Shelley Godwin d. Jones/Masviba (Troy), 8-3
