Alabama?s Stephenson Ties School?s All-Time Win Mark
3/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ?? Alabama’s Robin Stephenson tied the Crimson Tide’s all-time mark for career wins Friday night in a 5-2 loss to No. 24 Tennessee.
Stephenson defeated UT’s Victoria Jones in straight sets 6-1, 6-1 for her 88th career win to tie the record. She’ll now attempt to become the Tide’s all-time winningest singles player Sunday afternoon in front of the home crowd when Alabama hosts Georgia at the UA Tennis Complex.
“I’m very proud of Robin,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “She deserves to be praised for what she has done, but what I love about her the most is that she doesn’t get caught up in her own headlines. She plays for the team every day and she did that today.”
The Crimson Tide recorded three victories in the match, all coming from Stephenson and Ashley Bentley. Bentley, who now has 86 career victories herself, dominated Melissa Schaub at No. 2, 6-1, 6-0 and the duo combined for an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles.
“Robin and Ashley lead this team when we win and when we lose,” Mainz said. “They had two decisive victories in singles today and won at No. 1 doubles and that’s what I call leading this team in all situations.”
Despite Stephenson and Bentley having another big day, Alabama wasn’t able to overcome a deep Tennessee team. The Lady Vols won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to take the doubles point and won the final four singles matches on the court for the win.
“Tennessee stepped up and had a big day,” Mainz said. “They certainly came ready to play and really played a good match. We struggled and had a rough day and have no excuses. We have to be the type of team that can persevere in tough situations on the road and we were unable to work through that today.”
The loss drops Alabama to 7-6 overall and 3-2 in the SEC but the Tide still sits in first place in the SEC Western Division. The loss also snaps Alabama’s five-match overall winning streak and two-match winning streak against Tennessee.
Alabama will return home to host Georgia on Sunday at 1 p.m.
No. 24 Tennessee 5, No. 26 Alabama 2
Singles
Robin Stephenson (UA) d. Victoria Jones (UT), 6-1, 6-1
Ashley Bentley (UA) d. Melissa Schaub (UT), 6-1, 6-0
Blakeley Griffith (UT) d. Mari Muller (UA), 6-1, 6-1
Ghizela Schutte (UT) d. Shelley Godwin (UA), 6-3, 6-1
Samantha Orlin (UT) d. Natalie McElveen (UA), 6-1, 6-2
Stephanie Harris (UT) d. Melissa Day (UA), 5-4 ret.
Doubles
Robin Stephenson/Ashley Bentley (UA) d. Melissa Schaub/Ghizela Schutte (UT), 8-5
Blakeley Griffith/Victoria Jones (UT) d. Melissa Day/Mari Muller (UA), 8-3
Stephanie Harris/Samantha Orlin (UT) d. Andrea Brenes/Natalie McElveen (UA), 8-4
