Women?s Tennis Wins Third Straight
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Women’s Tennis Wins Third Straight
Sunday, March 12, 2006
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| Melissa Day |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. ?? The Alabama women’s tennis team won its third consecutive match Sunday afternoon by defeating Mississippi State 5-2 and giving head coach Jenny Mainz her 99th career victory.
The win moves the Crimson Tide to 5-5 overall and 3-1 in the SEC, its best start in the conference since 2004.
“It was nice to be back at home this weekend,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “I was pleased with how we stepped up and capitalized on our opportunities. I thought we played well all weekend. I felt like we gained a lot of momentum from the Kentucky win and did a good job of carrying it through this weekend.”
Unlike Friday’s dramatic win, this one was settled early. Alabama won all three doubles matches followed by the first three singles matches to clinch the victory. Freshman Sofia Ayala clinched the team win at No. 6 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over MSU’s Tatiana Feit.
The most exciting match of the day came at No. 2 doubles. The Tide’s Mari Muller and Melissa Day fell behind 7-3 to MSU’s Elna de Villiers and Martina Banikova, but refused to give in. Muller and Day clawed their way back into the match and evened the pro-set at seven games apiece. Each team held their final serve and the match stretched into a tiebreaker where Muller and Day prevailed for the 9-8(5) win.
Both Robin Stephenson and Ashley Bentley picked up wins in singles, moving each of them one step closer in their chase to become the school’s all-time winningest players. Now with 85, Stephenson will enter next weekend just three behind the school record while Bentley, who has 83 wins, sits just five away from the mark and in sixth place in the school’s record books.
Shelley Godwin also claimed her second win of the weekend on Sunday to improve to 10-8 on the season. Godwin defeated Daniela Juskova 6-2, 6-1.
Next weekend the Crimson Tide will step out of conference to take on Boston University Saturday at noon and the University of Michigan Sunday at 11 a.m. Both matches will be played at the UA Tennis Complex.
Tennis Match Results
Miss. State vs Alabama
Mar 12, 2006 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
#39 Alabama 5, Miss. State 2
Singles competition:
1. #7 Robin Stephenson (UA) def. Anastasia Kugakolova (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #87 Ashley Bentley (UA) def. Martina Banikova (MSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Renee Joseph (MSU) def. Mari Muller (UA) 6-3, 6-3
4. Polina Kokoulina (MSU) def. Andrea Brenes (UA) 6-2, 6-4
5. Shelley Godwin (UA) def. Daniela Juskova (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Sofia Ayala (UA) def. Tatiana Feit (MSU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition:
1. #15 Robin Stephenson/Ashley Bentley (UA) def. Anastasia Kugakolova/Polina Kokoulina (MSU) 8-3
2. Mari Muller/Melissa Day (UA) def. Elna de Villiers/Martina Banikova (MSU) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Natalie McElveen/Andrea Brenes (UA) def. Daniela Juskova/Renee Joseph (MSU) 8-5
Match Notes:
- Miss. State 3-8, 1-3 SEC
- Alabama 5-5, 3-1 SEC; National ranking #39
- Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,5,6,4,1,3)
- Alabama wins doubles point for the fourth time in its last five matches
- UA is 4-2 this season when it wins the doubles point
- Day/Muller fought back from 7-3 deficit to win 9-8 at No. 2 doubles
- Robin Stephenson now 4th all-time in wins (85)
- Ashley Bentley now 6th all-time in wins (83)
