Alabama
Tennessee (W)
Women's Tennis Dominates Tennessee, 6-1
4/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 8, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 11th-ranked women's tennis team picked up a 6-1 win at No. 22 Tennessee on Sunday at Barksdale Stadium. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves to 15-3 on the season and 9-1 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Lady Volunteers drop to 13-10 overall and 4-6 in league play.
"We had an impressive weekend on the road," said Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz. "It's a grind battling on the road in the SEC. Our team is handling the road well and again, their maturity and experience are proving to be important. This team is playing with a lot of confidence."
Alabama earned a pair of points before match play even started as Tennessee had to forfeit the bottom two singles courts due to a lack of active players. The Tide would then take a 3-0 lead following doubles as it capitalized on another forfeiture on court three and won at No. 2 with junior Antonia Foehse and sophomore Mary Anne Macfarlane topping sophomore Brynn Boren and freshman Jesse Grace, 8-3. Tennessee was able to get a win on court one as senior Natalie Pluskota and junior Kata Szekely, ranked 18th, collected an 8-4 win against Alabama's 19th-ranked duo of senior Courtney McLane and junior Alexa Guarachi.
No. 56 Guarachi was first to finish in singles, clinching the team victory for the Tide as she knocked off 28th-ranked Boren in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. Senior Taylor Lindsey would finish shortly after to put Alabama in front 5-0 as she beat Grace, 6-4, 6-1, on court four. Macfarlane, ranked 23rd in the nation, awarded the Tide its sixth point of the afternoon, taking down 29th-ranked Pluskota, 6-3, 6-2, on court one. The Lady Vols would close out the match with a win, getting its lone point on court three where 49th-ranked Szekely beat McLane, 7-5, 6-1.
"We have consistently competed well," added Mainz. "We're doing a great job of playing the big points on our terms. Tennessee fought hard and showed a lot of heart, competing with only four players. They were ready to play today."
Alabama will close out the regular season on Saturday, April 14, when it heads to Auburn to take on the Tigers. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 18 Pluskota/Szekely (UT) def. No. 19 Guarachi/McLane (UA) 8-4
2. No. 47 Foehse/Macfarlane (UA) def. Boren/Grace (UT) 8-3
Order of Finish: 2,1
Singles
1. No. 23 Mary Anne Macfarlane (UA) def. No. 29 Natalie Pluskota (UT) 6-3, 6-2
2. No. 56 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. No. 28 Brynn Boren (UT) 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 49 Kata Szekely (UT) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 7-5, 6-1
4. Taylor Lindsey (UA) def. Jesse Grace (UT) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 2*,4,1,3
Players Mentioned
