Women's Tennis Wins Eight at Wildcat Invitational
1/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 17, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. - The women's tennis team finished a long second day of competition at the Wildcat Invitational with eight wins. One of the Tide's victories came in doubles while the other seven were captured in singles. Freshman Courtney McLane remains undefeated for the tournament in singles having won both her matches Saturday.
"Today was a real big test for us," said assistant coach Rahim Esmail. We left everything we had on the court. The girls have really been working hard, and that's certainly paying off. They are raising the bar everyday and making big progress. I think they've done a great job. We're playing three of the top teams in the country and have been able to stand toe-to-toe against them. That says a lot about how hard this team is working and how far we've come."
Alabama opened the day with doubles against No. 20 Florida State where junior Paulina Bigos and sophomore Tiffany Welcher battled to win a close 9-7 match against Federica Suess and Noemie Scharle. Freshmen Taylor Lindsey and McLane also took it to the wire but were eventually edged by the Seminoles' Jessica Wente and Lauren MacFarlane 9-7. In the Tide's final doubles match of the day, junior Alice Tunaru and sophomore Meritt Emery fell to Katie Rybakova and Bonny Davidson 8-2.
Following doubles, Alabama took the courts against No. 1 Northwestern in singles. McLane earned the Tide's one singles victory against the Wildcats with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 win over Elena Chernyakova. Welcher faced off against No. 28 Georgia Rose where Rose won in two sets both by scores of 6-2. Bigos took her match against No. 24 Samantha Murray to three sets winning the first 6-3. Murray came back to win the final two 6-4, 6-2. Emery and Tunaru both fell to their Northwestern opponents by a score of 6-1, 6-2 and Lindsey dropped a 6-1, 6-3 decision to the Wildcats' Stacey Lee.
Alabama wrapped up the day with another round of singles where it swept No. 62 DePaul in all six matches. Welcher, who is currently ranked No. 72, beat No. 109 Dunja Antunovic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Senior Shelley Godwin fought hard to win her first set against Kirsten Gambrell 7-5. Gambrell came back to take the second set 6-4, but Godwin wouldn't give up and took home the match victory with a 6-3 win in the third. Emery came in clutch late in both sets against Selma Salkovic winning 7-5, 7-5. McLane picked up her fourth singles victory of the tournament with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 against Anna Redecsi. Tunaru dropped her first set to Cali Gustafson 6-4, but didn't let down and took sets two and three by scores of 6-2, 6-1 to seal the sweep for the Tide.
Sunday will feature a mixture of all four teams playing in two rounds of doubles. Action begins at 10:00 a.m. (CST). Next up, Alabama returns home for its first dual match of the season when it hosts UT Chattanooga Sunday, Jan. 25 at 1:00 p.m. (CST).
RESULTS
Doubles
Welcher/Bigos (UA) def. Suess/Scharle (FSU) 9-7
Wente/MacFarlane (FSU) def. McLane/Lindsey (UA) 9-7
Rybakova/Davidson (FSU) def. Emery/Tunaru (UA) 8-2
Singles
No. 28 Georgia Rose (NU) def. No. 72 Tiffany Welcher (UA) 6-2, 6-2
No. 24 Samantha Murray (NU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Courtney McLane (UA) def. Elena Chernyakova (NU) 6-0, 6-1
Nazlie Ghazal (NU) def. Meritt Emery (UA) 6-1, 6-2
Keri Robison (NU) def. Alice Tunaru (UA) 6-1, 6-2
Stacey Lee (NU) def. Taylor Lindsey (UA) 6-1, 6-3
Paulina Bigos (UA) def. Gia McKnight (DEP) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 72 Tiffany Welcher (UA) def. No. 109 Dunja Antunovic (DEP) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Shelly Godwin (UA) def. Kirsten Gambrell (DEP) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
Meritt Emery (UA) def. Selma Salkovic (DEP) 7-5, 7-5
Courtney McLane (UA) def. Anna Redecsi (DEP) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
Alice Tunaru (UA) def. Cali Gustafson (DEP) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Players Mentioned
