Alabama
Kentucky
No. 17 Women's Tennis Edged by No. 19 Kentucky
3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 27, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The 17th-ranked women's tennis team (13-2, 3-2 SEC) dropped an over four hour marathon match to the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats (11-4, 2-3) by the slimmest of margins, 4-3. The Crimson Tide lost the doubles point and fell behind in the match 3-0, but made a valiant effort to come back and steal the victory. The loss was the first home loss of the season for Alabama.
"This was a heartbreaker," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "We were behind most of the match, but I'm proud of the way we continued to have unrelenting spirit, and our will to stay in it created opportunities for us. In the end, we had a good, solid chance. We did not capitalize on opportunities in doubles, but showed a tremendous amount of resiliency being down 3-0 and all of a sudden it was 3-3."
Doubles action would come down to a tiebreak on courts two and three, as each match lasted almost one and a half hours. Kentucky took the match on court one by a score of 8-5. Sophomore Tiffany Welcher and freshman Courtney McLane struck first, breaking the 29th-ranked duo of senior Carolina Escamilla and freshman Caroline Lilley for a 4-3 lead. However, the Wildcat pair would bounce back, breaking serve at 4-5 and running away with the match from there. The drama on courts two and three took center stage the rest of the way. Kentucky's sophomore Megan Broderick and junior Christine Johnston raced out to a 4-1 lead at the No. 2 spot, but junior Paulina Bigos and freshman Taylor Lindsey would put up a fight. The Alabama tandem broke at 2-4 after being down 15-40 in the game, and eventually claimed a 6-5 lead and went ahead 40-0 in the next game. However, the momentum would swing back in favor of the Wildcats, as Broderick and Johnston battled back to break serve. Bigos and Lindsey seized the momentum back with a break at 7-7, but could not take advantage of the opportunity to serve out the match. Broderick and Johnston took an early lead in the tiebreak and managed to hang on to claim the tiebreak seven points to five, clinching the doubles point for the Wildcats. The match on court three provided just as many swings of momentum as the match on court two. It was sophomore Meritt Emery and senior Shelley Godwin who jumped ahead early, taking a 5-1 lead over sophomore Lauren Meier and junior Whitney Spencer. Both Kentucky players struggled to hold serve, and it appeared they had dug themselves too deep a hole. They managed to claw their way back into the match, but it was Godwin who had the chance to serve out the win at 7-6. Godwin was broken that game, but the Tide duo broke back, this time giving Emery the opportunity to serve for the match. Kentucky ended up capitalizing in the game and sent the match to a tiebreak. The Wildcats clearly had the momentum, and used it to cruise to a 7-3 victory.
Singles action started off heavily in Kentucky's favor, with three Wildcats players winning the opening set by a score of 6-3 or better. The first two matches off court went to Kentucky decisively. Lilley cruised to a 6-1 first set victory at the No. 6 spot over Lindsey. The second set remained on serve through the first four games, but Lilley broke serve and dominated the rest of the way, winning the match 6-1, 6-2. Spencer had little trouble closing out her victory on court five over Godwin as well. Spencer took the first set 6-3, and managed to battle through a back and forth second set to win 6-3, 6-3. The match on court one featured the only two ranked singles players, as No. 105 Welcher took down No. 117 Broderick 6-3, 6-4. Welcher broke at 4-3 and held to take the opening set, then secured an early break in the second. Welcher made that break hold throughout the set, taking it 6-4. Bigos recorded the next point for the Tide, making an improbable comeback at the No. 3 position to defeat Johnston. Bigos dropped the first set quickly by a score of 6-1, but jumped ahead early in the second, eventually building a 5-1 lead. Johnston did win the next two games, but Bigos would run off an impressive streak of games, taking the second set 6-3 and a 5-0 lead in the third. Johnston held to make it 5-1, and Bigos was able to serve out the match the next game.
Alabama evened the match at three points each after Emery took a lengthy two set match at the No. 4 spot over Meier. Emery was up 5-3 in the first set, but let the lead slip away. The set would end up in a tiebreak, with Emery taking it seven points to four. She jumped ahead quickly 3-0 in the second, and it appeared Meier was wilting, but she found a way to lengthen several rallies and get the set back on serve. Emery broke again at 4-4, and came out on top of the long rallies in the next game to claim the match 7-6 (4), 6-4. The dual match came down to a marathon three set match on court two between McLane and Escamilla. The Kentucky senior took the first set 6-3 after falling behind early in the set 3-2. The second set remained on serve until McLane broke for a 5-3 lead, but Escamilla broke right back the next game. However, Escamilla would not keep the momentum in her corner for long, as McLane broke again to take the set 6-4. The final set stayed on serve through the first four games, but then the returner took the next seven games. Escamilla served for the match once at 5-4, but was unsuccessful in closing it out. She got another chance at 6-5, and this time would do so, hitting an un-returnable serve out wide on match point.
"Kentucky played a good match," Mainz added. "Give them credit. They took advantage of opportunities in doubles, and that was a huge factor. I am still very proud of the way our team hung in there."
Next up, the Tide travels to Nashville on Sunday, March 29 to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The match is scheduled to begin at Noon (CST).
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 29 Escamilla/Lilley (UK) def. Welcher/McLane (UA) 8-5
2. Broderick/Johnston (UK) def. Bigos/Lindsey (UA) 9-8 (5)
3. Meier/Spencer (UK) def. Emery/Godwin (UA) 9-8 (3)
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. No. 105 Tiffany Welcher (UA) def. No. 117 Megan Broderick (UK) 6-3, 6-4
2. Carolina Escamilla (UK) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
3. Paulina Bigos (UA) def. Christine Johnston (UK) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
4. Meritt Emery (UA) def. Lauren Meier (UK) 7-6(4), 6-4
5. Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Shelley Godwin (UA) 6-3, 6-3
6. Caroline Lilley (UK) def. Taylor Lindsey (UA) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6,5,1,3,4,2*
Players Mentioned
