Alabama Tennis? Comeback Falls Short in NCAA First Round
5/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. ?? Friday’s first round NCAA Tournament match between Alabama and Virginia was a tale of two matches; one that saw Virginia get out to a quick start and another that saw the Crimson Tide mount a furious comeback. In the end however, the Tide’s comeback effort fell just short in a 4-3 loss.
“I have to commend Virginia,” Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz said. “They’re a strong team that has gotten better and better as the season as progressed.”
As if the day’s first eight matches hadn’t contained enough drama, everything came down to the outcome of a third-set tiebreaker between Alabama’s Shelley Godwin and Virginia’s Lindsey Pereira.
Godwin jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak before Pereira won the next two points to even the breaker at 3-3. The two players then exchanged the next three points, and with Godwin leading the breaker 5-4, she had a chance to hold serve and possibly serve for the match for a second time. However, Pereira won the final three points of the breaker to give UVa the victory.
“That last match came down to whoever was willing to be more aggressive,” Mainz said. “When Shelley stepped up and played deliberately, momentum swung in her favor. The match was a see-saw battle and Pereira answered. I give her credit.”
The match was the ninth match this season for Alabama decided by one point and the second decided in a third-set tiebreaker. The loss drops UA’s record to 4-5 in those matches and 4-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
After dropping the doubles point, the Tide was faced with the task of having to win four singles matches to advance to the second round. Through the first sets, the prospects of Alabama pulling off four singles victories didn’t look promising. However, following a dominating 6-0, 6-0 win by Robin Stephenson at No. 1 singles, things began to turn in Alabama’s favor.
Godwin fought back to win her second set to force a third, Ashley Bentley hung on to win her third set in convincing fashion and Sofia Ayala rolled to a straight-set win at No. 6 singles. At one point, Alabama’s Godwin and Ayala simultaneously served for their matches that would have given UA a 4-3 win. Ayala won when the chair umpire overruled an out call from Virginia’s Caroline Hammond, but Pereira broke Godwin’s serve to stave off the Tide’s upset bid.
“We got off to a slow start,” Mainz said, “and didn’t play with a lot of energy in doubles. But I thought we responded in singles and I was pleased with how we competed. We left everything we had on the court today. Unfortunately, we came up a little bit short.”
Alabama entered the match knowing that a quick start and capturing the doubles point would be key to victory and early on it looked as though the Tide would follow through. Robin Stephenson and Ashley Bentley took a 2-1 lead at No. 1 doubles while Andrea Brenes and Mari Muller jumped up two breaks at No. 2 singles. However, momentum quickly shifted at No. 1.
Facing a UVa duo, Kristen James and Lori Stern, who were playing at the top of their game, Stephenson and Bentley began to struggle and soon found themselves playing from behind. Despite James’ struggles with her own serve, James and Stern broke serve on four consecutive occasions to claim an 8-2 win and hand Stephenson and Bentley just their fourth dual-match loss of the season. It was also the worst defeat suffered by the UA team since an 8-1 loss at Northwestern on February 11.
UVa’s Caroline Hammond and Lara Alexander then clinched the doubles point for the Cavs with an 8-3 win at No. 3. When the match was stopped, Brenes and Muller led 7-4 at No. 2.
Tennis Match Results
Alabama vs Virginia
May 12, 2006 at Duke University
#26 Virginia 4, #35 Alabama 3
Singles competition:
1. #20 Robin Stephenson (UA) def. #116 Douglas Wink (UVA) 6-0, 6-0
2. #108 Ashley Bentley (UA) def. Rachel DelPriore (UVA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
3. Kristen James (UVA) def. Mari Muller (UA) 6-2, 6-3
4. Lori Stern (UVA) def. Natalie McElveen (UA) 6-1, 6-1
5. Lindsey Pereira (UVA) def. Shelley Godwin (UA) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Sofia Ayala (UA) def. Caroline Hammond (UVA) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition:
1. #23 Kristen James/Lori Stern (UVA) def. #15 Robin Stephenson/Ashley Bentley (UA) 8-2
2. Mari Muller/Andrea Brenes (UA) def. Douglas Wink/Rachel DelPriore (UVA) 7-4, unfinished
3. Caroline Hammond/Lara Alexander (UVA) def. Shelley Godwin/Natalie McElveen (UA) 8-3
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,4,2,3,6,5)
