Women's Tennis Enjoys Successful Start to Wildcat Invitational
1/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 16, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. - The women's tennis team picked up six wins in its 2009 season opener against opponents from No. 1 Northwestern, No. 20 Florida State and No. 62 DePaul at the Wildcat Invitational on Friday. Two of the Crimson Tide's wins came in singles play while the other four were earned in doubles competition.
"Our team got off to a good start today," said assistant coach Rahim Esmail. "They had great competitive spirit throughout the day and really did well. All the hard work they've done in practice is definitely showing in their matches."
Alabama took the court first this morning against Florida State in singles. The freshmen duo of Taylor Lindsey and Courtney McLane walked away with a victory each for the Tide against their Seminole opponent. Lindsey defeated Ania Rynarzewska in straight sets 6-2, 7-6, and McLane won in three against Lauren MacFarlane 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Also representing Alabama in singles were sophomores Tiffany Welcher and Meritt Emery, junior Paulina Bigos and senior Shelley Godwin. Welcher took on the No. 35-ranked singles player in the nation in Florida State's Katie Rybakova. After falling behind a set 6-4, Welcher bounced back and won the second by the same score. Rybakova held strong in the end and won the decisive third set 6-3. Godwin also forced her match to go into a third set. After losing the first to Jessica Wente, Godwin came back to take the second 6-4, but Wente was able to hang on for the victory after winning the final set 6-1. Bigos dropped a 6-4, 6-0 decision to Noemie Scharle, and Emery fell to No. 53 Federica Suess 6-3, 6-0.
After a short break, Alabama got back to work, however, this time it was in doubles against Northwestern. McLane and Lindsey continued to rack up the wins for the Tide defeating the Wildcats' Elena Chernyakova and Keri Robison 9-7. Emery and junior teammate Alice Tunaru paired up to rope in another doubles victory for Alabama against Nazlie Ghazal and Stacey Lee 8-6. Welcher and Bigos fell to the Northwestern team of Georgia Rose and Samantha Murray 8-2.
The Tide would end the day against DePaul with another round of doubles that included a pair of wins. Welcher and Bigos played a solid match to beat the No. 36-ranked pair of Dunja Antunovic and Kirsten Gambrell 8-4. In addition, McLane and Lindsey went a perfect 2-0 on the day together with an 8-5 victory over Anna Redesci and Gia McKnight. Tunaru and Emery teamed up for the second time of the day but were unable to pick up a second win falling 8-4 to Selma Salkovic and Cali Gustafson.
Action continues at the Wildcat Invitational on Saturday. Alabama first hits the courts at 9:00 a.m. (CST) to take on Florida State in doubles.
RESULTS
Singles
No. 35 Katie Rybakova (FSU) def. Tiffany Welcher (UA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Noemie Scharle (FSU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-4, 6-0
Courtney McLane (UA) def. Lauren MacFarlane (FSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 53 Federica Suess (FSU) def. Meritt Emery (UA) 6-3, 6-0
Jessica Wente (FSU) def. Shelley Godwin (UA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Ania Rynarzewska (FSU) 6-2, 7-6
Doubles
Georgia Rose/Samantha Murray (NU) def. Tiffany Welcher/Paulina Bigos (UA) 8-2
Courtney McLane/Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Elena Chernyakova/Keri Robison (NU) 9-7
Alice Tunaru/Meritt Emery (UA) def. Nazlie Ghazal/Stacey Lee (NU) 8-6
Tiffany Welcher/Paulina Bigos (UA) def. No. 36 Dunja Antunovic/Kirsten Gambrell (DEP) 8-4
Courtney McLane/Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Anna Redesci/Gia McKnight (DEP) 8-5
Selma Salkovic/Cali Gustafson (DEP) def. Alice Tunaru/Meritt Emery (UA) 8-4
Players Mentioned
