Alabama
Day 3
Women's Tennis Finishes Coaches Classic with Seven Wins
11/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Nov. 8, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Tiffany Welcher and Alice Tunaru and the doubles pair of Meritt Emery and Tunaru all won main draw finals on the final day of play at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic. In addition, the Crimson Tide picked up an additional four victories on the day in consolation rounds.
"I'm really pleased with the tournament overall," said Head Coach Jenny Mainz. "I feel like we really did a good job of finishing the fall season meeting our objectives and finishing with confidence. We wanted to come out and be ready to play hard. I definitely feel like we made a statement."
In doubles action, the three Alabama pairs each earned wins. In the crimson draw, Courtney McLane and Taylor Lindsey picked up an 8-5 win over Courtney Ulery and Chelsea Preeg of Vanderbilt. Paulina Bigos and Welcher collected an 8-4 victory over Mississippi State's Valeriya Makarycheva and Radka Ferencova 8-4, while Emery and Tunaru dominated the Commodores' Heather Steinbauer and Erica Robertson 8-3.
"We had a strong start with doubles this morning," mentioned Mainz. "Again, we wanted to be ready to compete on the first ball, and we did that. We are farther along right now than we've been the past two seasons at this point."
On the singles side, Paulina Bigos, Taylor Lindsey, Welcher and Tunaru each racked up wins for the Tide. Welcher took down her second ranked opponent in as many days when she beat No. 81 Monika Dancevic of Georgia 6-0, 7-5.
"Tiffany certainly made a statement this weekend beating two ranked players," said Mainz. "I thought she did a nice job leading on the court and picked up some noteworthy wins. It's always nice when your No. 1 player can go out there and take control like that."
Bigos also had a big win for Alabama downing Vanderbilt's Keilly Ulery 6-1, 6-4 in the silver draw consolation. In the bronze draw consolation, Lindsey beat Auburn's Daniela Vuckadinovic 6-3, 6-0, while Tunaru finished her weekend 3-0 in the green draw with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 win over Mississippi State's Makarycheva.
"I think Alice did a great job gaining some confidence this weekend," Mainz said. "Taylor worked hard rebounding from yesterday's match. She did a great job and gained confidence. Paulina also did a great job throughout the tournament."
Also representing the Tide in singles was Shelley Godwin and McLane. Godwin ended her eight-match winning streak with a three-set loss, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3, to the Commodores' Preeg. McLane dropped a 7-5, 6-3 decision to Rosalia Alda of Tennessee, and Emery fell 6-3, 6-3 against Vanderbilt's No. 56 Courtney Ulery.
"Shelley did a very nice job all weekend long," added Mainz. "She was always ready to play and competed well. I think like Tiffany, she led the team on the court this weekend. She was at her best when it was needed."
Alabama has now wrapped up its fall season and will return to the courts January 16, 2009, when it heads to the Northwestern Invitational in Evanston, Ill.
RESULTS
Doubles
McLane/Lindsey (UA) def. C. Ulery/Preeg (VU) 8-5
Bigos/Welcher (UA) def. Makarycheva/Ferencova (MSU) 8-4
Emery/Tunaru (UA) def. Steinbauer/Robertson (VU) 8-3
Singles
Rosalia Alda (UT) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 7-5, 6-3
Tiffany Welcher (UA) def. Monika Dancevic (UGA) 6-0, 7-5
Courtney Ulery (VU) def. Meritt Emery (UA) 6-3, 6-3
Paulina Bigos (UA) def. Keilly Ulery (VU) 6-1, 6-4
Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Daniela Vuckadinovic (AU) 6-3, 6-0
Chelsea Preeg (VU) def. Shelley Godwin(UA) 2-6, 6-0, 6-3
Alice Tunaru (UA) def. Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-0
Players Mentioned
