Alabama
Tulane
Women's Tennis Downs Tulane 4-0
3/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 21, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The women's tennis team battled past No. 67 Tulane 4-0 on Sunday at the Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavilion on the campus of Samford University. With the win, the Crimson Tide evens its record at 7-7, while the Green Wave drops to 8-8 on the season.
"I really want to commend the top of the lineup today," head coach Jenny Mainz said after the match. "We required a lot of them today. We challenged them to lead the team and gain momentum after the doubles point, and they took charge and got it done. I think that shows a lot of growth and maturity. Tulane is a good, solid team. Their record does not indicate the type of tennis they have been playing this season."
Doubles action began in Alabama's favor, with the Tide claiming early breaks on courts two and three to seize control. On court one, Tulane's sophomore Miriam Kurdadze and Emma Levy jumped out to a quick lead over sophomore Courtney McLane and senior Paulina Bigos. They never let the Alabama duo in the match, taking it 8-2. The Tide countered with a win at the No. 2 position, as freshmen Alexa Guarachi and Antonia Foehse held off sophomore Lindsay Dvorak and freshman Emma Helisten 8-6. The freshman tandem raced out to a 4-1 lead only to have Dvorak and Helisten take a break lead at 6-5. Guarachi and Foehse were able to break for 6-6 and take the final two games of the match as well.
The doubles point came down to court three, where junior Meritt Emery and senior Alice Tunaru held a 7-1 lead, but saw it quickly evaporating. The Wave's freshman Hila Elster and sophomore Elizabeth Hamlin fought back to trail 7-4, but could not hold for 7-5 to put the pressure back on Alabama, as Emery and Tunaru claimed the doubles point with an 8-4 victory.
McLane kept the momentum in the Tide's favor in singles play, picking up a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 2 position over Levy. She let her play dip slightly in the second set, allowing Levy to fight back from a 2-0 hole to even the score at 2-2, but got back on track to win the final four games of the match.
The other two matches that were completed were tight three-set matches, with Alabama able to come out on top in both. At the No. 3 spot, Emery and Hamlin struggled to hold serve throughout the match. Hamlin was finally able to hold at 6-5, drilling an ace down the tee to take the opening set. Emery quickly fought back in the second, taking control of the rallies to win the set 6-2. In the third, Hamlin took a 3-0 lead and appeared to be in cruise control before Emery turned the set around drastically, claiming the final six games of the match to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
At the No. 1 spot, 39th-ranked Guarachi battled through a tough opening set to take it 6-4, only to have Kurdadze pick up her level of play to win the second 6-4. Kurdadze took an early break lead in the final set, but Guarachi was able to break back. With Kurdadze serving at 4-5 in the third, Guarachi got on top in the rallies with her big return game and broke, winning the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to give Alabama the 4-0 victory.
"Alexa Guarachi did a great job of bouncing back today after losing the first set against a good, savvy player in Kurdadze," Mainz added. "Meritt Emery also did a great job of bouncing back."
Next up, the Tide jumps back into conference play with a home match against Vanderbilt. Alabama and the Commodores will face off on Friday, March 26 at 3:00 p.m. (CST).
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Kurdadze/Levy (TUL) def. McLane/Bigos (UA) 8-2
2. Foehse/Guarachi (UA) def. Dvorak/Helisten (TUL) 8-6
3. Emery/Tunaru (UA) def. Elster/Hamlin (TUL) 8-4
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. No. 39 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Miriam Kurdadze (TUL) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
2. Courtney McLane (UA) def. Emma Levy (TUL) 6-2, 6-2
3. Meritt Emery (UA) def. Elizabeth Hamlin (TUL) 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
4. Paulina Bigos (UA) vs. Lindsay Dvorak (TUL) 1-6, unf.
5. Antonia Foehse (UA) vs. Emma Helisten (TUL) dnp
6. Alice Tunaru (UA) vs. Hila Elster (TUL) dnp
Order of Finish: 2,3,1*
Players Mentioned
