Tide's McElveen Named SEC Athlete of the Week
3/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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Alabama junior Natalie McElveen, a graduate of Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, has been named the Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Week for her performance last weekend during the Crimson Tide’s opening weekend in SEC play.
McElveen was a perfect 2-0 in singles and 3-1 on the weekend, including two big wins Sunday that helped lift the Tide to an upset win over then No. 19 Tennessee.
“Natalie is very deserving of this prestigious honor,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “She has dedicated herself to constant improvement and continues to impress the coaching staff with her unwillingness to yield mentality and has proven her ability to respond when thrown into the intense battle of the SEC. It is exciting to witness Natalie play with so much confidence and authority.”
McElveen clinched both the doubles point and the final singles point to propel Alabama to the 4-3 victory. At No. 1 singles, McElveen played with Robin Stephenson in a match that lasted two hours. The duo fought back from a 6-4 deficit to win 9-8(9-7) and gave Alabama a 1-0 lead. After a short 10 minute break, McElveen took to the courts again to play singles, this time winning in just under three hours and in yet another tie-break, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(7-5). McElveen’s singles win sealed the victory for Alabama.
With two singles wins this weekend, McElveen has won four consecutive matches and is 9-6 overall, 2-0 in the SEC. She is also the first Alabama athlete to be named Athlete of the Week since Robin Stephenson earned the honor in 2004.
