Alabama
Iowa
Women's Tennis Beats No. 58 Iowa 6-1
2/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's tennis team (5-0) collected its first win over a ranked team this season, defeating the No. 58 Iowa Hawkeyes (4-3) by a score of 6-1. Alabama once again took the doubles point, winning all three matches 8-2. The Crimson Tide's lone senior, Shelley Godwin, clinched the match with her singles win.
"We came out ready today," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "We were excited for this opportunity. We raised our level, which we talked about this week. We talked about stepping up and playing better each week, and we played better this week than last week. We want to step forward with every match."
Alabama wasted no time in doubles action, jumping out to comfortable leads in all three matches. A new combination at the No. 3 spot, Godwin and sophomore Meritt Emery, notched the Tide's first doubles win, defeating Iowa's Jessica Young and Allison Majercikwhile Tide junior Paulina Bigos and freshman Taylor Lindsey finished just seconds later, knocking off the Hawkeye duo of sophomore Lynne Poggensee-Wei and junior Kelcie Klockenga at the No. 2. Sophomore Tiffany Welcher and freshman Courtney McLane completed the Tide sweep at No. 1 with their win over Iowa's sophomore Alexis Dorr and freshman Sonja Molnar.
"We had to revitalize No. 3 doubles, and they gave us a boost that we really needed. We won 8-2 across the board, which was big for us," Mainz said. "Everyone did such a great job of stepping up and taking care of their court. Even Tiffany found her way back into her match and gave herself a chance to win."
The momentum carried over into singles action for Alabama, as five of the six first sets were claimed by a Crimson Tide player. Emery surrendered a single game at the No. 4 spot, finishing off Young quickly 6-1, 6-0. Lindsey, who needed three sets to close out a win in each of her last two matches in the No. 6 position., was on the court a much shorter amount of time today, defeating Iowa's Majercik 6-0, 6-2. Godwin took the honors of clinching the win for Alabama with her 6-2, 6-2 win over Klockenga in the No. 5 spot. Bigos raced out to a 6-1 first set victory, but fell behind 4-1 in the second set in the No. 3 spot. However, she was able to regain her first set form, winning the last four games of the match and taking the set 6-4. McLane finished only minutes later at the No. 2 position, posting a 6-4, 6-1 win over Dorr.
The No. 1 spot was the only match in which the Tide dropped the first set. Welcher lost the first set 6-3 to Molnar, but managed to jump up a quick break in the second set. She would hold that break throughout the set, claiming it 6-3. The third set was decided by a back and forth super tiebreak. Welcher appeared to seize momentum when she came out on top of a long rally to take a 6-5 lead, but Molnar would not back down, taking control of the rallies from that point, winning the super tiebreak 10-7.
Next up, the Tide hosts Samford and Southern Mississippi in a double-header on Sunday, February 22 beginning at 10 a.m. (CST).
Results
Doubles
1. Welcher/McLane (UA) def. Molnar/Dorr (Iowa) 8-2
2. Bigos/Lindsey (UA) def. Poggensee-Wei/Klockenga (Iowa) 8-2
3. Emery/Godwin (UA) def. Young/Majercik (Iowa) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Sonja Molnar (Iowa) def. Tiffany Welcher (UA) 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (7)
2. Courtney McLane (UA) def. Alexis Dorr (UA) 6-4, 6-1
3. Paulina Bigos (UA) def. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (Iowa) 6-1, 6-4
4. Meritt Emery (UA def. Jessica Young (Iowa) 6-1, 6-0
5. Shelley Godwin (UA) def. Kelcie Klockenga (Iowa) 6-2, 6-2
6. Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Allison Majercik (Iowa) 6-0, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 5*, 3, 2, 1
Players Mentioned
