Alabama Pulls Another Upset, Tops No. 11 Harvard
3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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An inspired Alabama women’s tennis team picked up its second upset victory in three weeks Saturday afternoon, this time against No. 11 Harvard, 4-2.
Ashley Bentley (No. 73) clinched the match, as well as her second straight 20-win season, when she pulled an upset of her own over Harvard’s Susanna Lingman (No. 43) in the third set to win 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
“We performed well in the face of adversity today,” Bentley said. “We knew we had to come out and go to work immediately and the key to the win was that we all played solid tennis.”
The match was originally set to begin at 10 a.m. however rain delayed the start for three hours. Both head coaches agreed to play singles first followed by doubles if necessary. The Crimson Tide made sure that doubles play wouldn’t be needed by winning four of the six singles matches.
Robin Stephenson (No. 7) earned the Tide’s first point and tied the match at 1-1 with a win at No. 1 singles over Harvard’s Courtney Bergman (No. 40). Stephenson is now 19-10 on the season and has 10 wins against nationally ranked opponents.
“After last week’s tough losses we knew we had to play our best today,” Stephenson said. “We all came together with a professional mentality and played with one heartbeat on the court.”
Natalie McElveen then put Alabama ahead for good when she upset No. 54 Preethi Mukundan in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2. For McElveen, it was her first win over a ranked opponent this season.
At No. 4 singles, Mari Muller fought back after dropping the second set to take the third set and the match as well as ensure that the Tide couldn’t lose the match in singles. Muller is 2-0 against Harvard in her career.
“I didn’t doubt myself at all today,” Muller said. “No one on this team stopped believing in our ability. We stepped it up and played well. This is a big step for us.”
On the day, Alabama took both matches that stretched to three sets from the No. 11 team in the country and defeated all three ranked players from Harvard.
Next weekend Alabama will embark on its final road trip of the season as it travels to play South Carolina and Florida. Beginning on April 1 Alabama will play its final six matches in Tuscaloosa.
Tennis Match Results
Harvard vs Alabama
Mar 19, 2005 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
#30 Alabama 4, #11 Harvard 2
Singles competition:
1. #7 Robin Stephenson (BAMA) def. #40 Courtney Bergman (HARV) 6-4, 6-4
2. #73 Ashley Bentley (BAMA) def. #43 Susanna Lingman (HARV) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. Celia Durkin (HARV) def. Melissa Minor (BAMA) 6-4, 6-2
4. Mari Muller (BAMA) def. Eva Wang (HARV) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
5. Melissa Anderson (HARV) def. Anrdea Brenes (BAMA) 6-2, 6-1
6. Natalie McElveen (BAMA) def. #54 Preethi Mukundan (HARV) 7-5, 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Singles (5,1,6,3,4,2)
Due to weather delay singles were played first.
Alabama clinched victory in singles so doubles were not played.
