Women?s Tennis Falls to No. 45 Iowa, 4-3
2/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
IOWA CITY, Iowa- The University of Alabama women's tennis team dropped a close match to No. 45 Iowa today at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. With the loss the Tide falls to 2-4 in dual match play.
"We got off to a slow start in doubles," said Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz. "But I thought Paulina and Alice did a nice job at No. 2 by taking command from the first point and getting a win."
Alabama trailed 1-0 after doubles, dropping matches at nos. 1 and 3. At No. 2, sophomores Paulina Bigos and Alice Tunaru defeated Milica Veselinovic and Merel Beelen, 8-3, to pick up the first Tide victory of the day.
In singles, Alabama fell at No. 2 to give Iowa a 2-0 lead. Freshman Tiffany Welcher responded to the Iowa lead by downing Jacqueline Lee, 6-0, 6-2, from the No. 1 singles slot to put Alabama on the board. Paulina Bigos outlasted Beelen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 3 position to knot the score at 2-2.
With the score tied at 2-2, the match came down to courts four, five and six. Down a set on every court, the young Tide squad rallied back and sent each match to a third set. Junior Shelley Godwin battled Poggensee-Wei at No. 6 in her first singles appearance of the dual match season and eventually fell in the third set to give Iowa a 3-2 lead.
Svensson knotted the score for the second time at 3-3 by defeating Kelcie Klockenga, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, from the No. 5 position. On court four, Emery overcame a 3-0 defecit in the second set to send her match to a third set. Emery eventually fell to Dorr, 2-6, 7-6, 1-6, to give Iowa the win.
"We did a nice job of rebounding in singles after losing the doubles point," said Mainz. "We found our way into a couple of matches after being down a set and I think that proves how much fight this team has. We made a commitment to move forward and make strides every match. We have to keep battling and I think that will help us against Georgia State Wednesday."
Alabama returns to action in a mid-week match against Georgia State at the UA Varsity Courts on the University of Alabama campus. For more information on Alabama women's tennis, visit www.rolltide.com.
Alabama 3, #45 Iowa 4
Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex
Iowa City, Iowa
Singles
1. Tiffany Welcher (UA) d. Jacqueline Lee (UI) 6-0, 6-2
2. Milica Veselinovic (UI) d. Alice Tunaru (UA) 6-3, 6-0
3. Paulina Bigos (UA) d. Merel Beelen (UI) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Alexis Dorr (UI) d. Meritt Emery (UA) 2-6, 7-6, 1-6
5. Bianca Svensson (UA) d. Kelcie Klockenga (UI) 7-5, 1-6, 7-5
6. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (UI) d. Shelley Godwin (UA) 3-6, 6-1, 4-6
Order of finish: 2,1,3,6,5,4*
Doubles:
1. Lee/Dorr (UI) d. Andrea Brenes/Welcher (UA) 8-3
2. Bigos/Tunaru (UA) d. Veselinovic/Beelen (UI) 8-3
3. Kayla Berry/Poggensee-Wei (UI) d. Emery/Svensson (UA) 8-5
Order of finish: 2,1,3
-UA-
