Alabama
Samford
No. 65 Women's Tennis Sweeps Samford and Southern Miss
2/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 22, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's tennis team (7-0) extended its winning streak to seven, sweeping Samford (1-3) and Southern Mississippi (0-4) in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at the Hank Crisp Indoor Tennis Facility. Alabama maintained its excellent doubles play, having now won the doubles point in all seven matches. Crimson Tide sophomore Tiffany Welcher clinched the win over Samford, while junior Paulina Bigos brought home the win over Southern Mississippi.
"We came out ready to play today," said Alabama junior Alice Tunaru. "We knew it would be a long day, but I think we improved as the day went on. We didn't lose focus and we competed hard with each point. It was tough today because you really have to keep the blood going. You can't just sit around waiting to play. You can play a really good first match, but if you don't stay ready, it can be tough to come out ready to play again."
Alabama started the morning with strong doubles play, anchored by a sweep at the No. 3 position. Juniors Bianca Svensson and Tunaru, playing together for the first time this season, did not drop a game in defeating the freshman duo Beth Erwin and Jessica Diamond of Samford 8-0. The doubles point was clinched at the No. 1 spot by Welcher and freshman Courtney McLane, as they backed up their national ranking by defeating the Bulldogs' sophomore Taylor Morgan and junior Stephanie Parkinson 8-4. The No. 2 position featured a back and forth match, with Bigos and freshman Taylor Lindsey collecting the win in a tiebreak for the Tide, 9-8 (3) over the sophomore pair Andrie Meiring and Rebecca Kirven of Samford.
Singles play was quickly taken over by Alabama, as three of the top four positions saw a Tide player take the opening set by a score of 6-3 or better. Bigos was the first off court, breezing past Kirven 6-1, 6-1 in the No. 3 spot. McLane was not far behind, as she notched a 6-3, 6-3 victory in the No. 2 position over Meiring. The dual match was clinched with Welcher's win at the No. 1 spot, her first singles win in four dual matches. She opened with an easy 6-1 first set victory, but then dropped the second set 6-3. She regained momentum early in the third, taking the final set 6-3. The most dramatic match of the day took place at the No. 4 spot, as Alabama senior Shelley Godwin found herself trailing for almost the entire first set. Godwin was down two breaks at 4-1, with Parkison serving for the match at 5-4, but managed to battle back and force a tiebreak. She once again fell behind, this time 5 points to 1, but found a way to rally and steal the first set with a 9-7 victory in the tiebreak. The second set was not much easier for Godwin, but she fought through several long rallies to take the match 7-6 (7), 6-4. The final two matches were easy victories for the Tide. In the No. 5 position, Lindsey dropped a single game en route to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Diamond. Tunaru finished off the sweep for Alabama with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Erwin at the No. 6 spot.
Alabama opened up the second dual match of the day much like it did the first, taking control in doubles action. Welcher and McLane were first off the court this time, taking down freshman Elja van Berlo and junior Lauren Gutterman of Southern Mississippi at the No. 1 spot 8-4. Seconds later, the doubles point was clinched by the Tide with an 8-2 victory in the No. 2 position from Bigos and Lindsey over the Golden Eagles' sophomore duo Hollie Robinson and Shannon Rogers. Emery and Godwin finished off the second doubles sweep of the day for Alabama, defeating sophomores Zoe Lee and Alexandra Kaluza of Southern Mississippi 8-6 in the No. 3 spot.
The Tide opened up singles play emphatically, not surrendering more than a single game in any first set. McLane finished first for Alabama, cruising to a 6-0, 6-0 win over Kaluza in the No. 2 position. Emery was next off the court, dropping just a single game at the No. 4 spot in a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Gutterman. Bigos clinched the match win in the No. 3 position for the Tide, knocking off Robinson 6-0, 6-2. Welcher dropped three games in her match at the No. 1 spot, notching a 6-1, 6-2 victory over van Berlo. Lindsey continued the easy singles wins run for Alabama, not dropping a game to Lee at the No. 5 spot in a 6-0, 6-0 victory. Tunaru once again finished off the sweep in the No. 6 position, this time with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Rogers.
Next up, the Tide hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Fort Worth, Texas next weekend to take on the 21st-ranked TCU Horned Frogs. The match will be played on Saturday, February 28 at Noon (CST).
RESULTS
Alabama 7, Samford 0
Doubles
1. No. 38 Welcher/McLane (UA) def. MEIRING/KIRVEN (SAM) 8-4
2. Bigos/Lindsey (UA) def. MORGAN/PARKISON (SAM) 9-8 (7-3)
3. Tunaru/Svensson (UA) def. ERWIN/DIAMOND (SAM) 8-0
Order of Finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. Tiffany Welcher (UA) def. MORGAN, Taylor (SAM) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
2. Courtney McLane (UA) def. MEIRING, Andrie (SAM) 6-3, 6-3
3. Paulina Bigos (UA) def. KIRVEN, Rebecca (SAM) 6-1, 6-1
4. Shelley Godwin (UA) def. PARKISON, Stephanie (SAM) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
5. Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. DIAMOND, Jessica (SAM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Alice Tunaru (UA) def. ERWIN, Beth (SAM) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 3,2,1*,4,5,6
Alabama 7, Southern Mississippi 0
Doubles
1. No. 38 Welcher/McLane (UA) def. Van Berlo/Gutterman (USMW) 8-4
2. Bigos/Lindsey (UA) def. Robinson/Rogers (USMW) 8-2
3. Emery/Godwin (UA) def. Lee/Kaluza (USMW) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. Tiffany Welcher (UA) def. Elja Van Berlo (USMW) 6-1, 6-2
2. Courtney McLane (UA) def. Alexandra Kaluza (USMW) 6-0, 6-0
3. Paulina Bigos (UA) def. Hollie Robinson (USMW) 6-0, 6-2
4. Meritt Emery (UA) def. Lauren Gutterman (USMW) 6-0, 6-1
5. Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Zoe Lee (USMW) 6-0, 6-0
6. Alice Tunaru (UA) def. Shannon Rogers (USMW) 6-1, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2,4,3*,1,5,6
Players Mentioned
