Alabama
Harvard University
Alabama Women’s Tennis Set to Compete in ITA Kick-Off Weekend Tournament
1/26/2017 10:23:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team is set to compete at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament, which is set to take place on the campus of Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 28-29. The Crimson Tide (3-1) will take on Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 12 p.m. CT, and it will square off against No. 7 Ohio State or Florida State on Sunday.
Last weekend, Alabama defeated Illinois, 6-1, before falling to Washington in a 4-3 thriller. The Tide's 86th-ranked singles player, Erin Routliffe, went 2-0 from the No. 1 slot, where she won both of her matches in straight sets. Sophomore standout Andie Daniell replicated the same results from the No. 2 singles position, as she won both of her matches in straight sets. Alabama won the doubles point in both matches last weekend, while not allowing the opposition to win one doubles contest in either match. Daniell and senior Danielle Spielmann went 2-0 from the No. 2 doubles spot on the weekend, marking the Tide's only doubles pair to win two matches on the weekend.
Harvard comes into the tournament with a winless record at 0-2. Last weekend, Harvard lost to 26th-ranked Northwestern, 6-1, before falling to DePaul in a 5-2 decision. The Crimson has one singles player nationally ranked, No. 111 Alexis Milunovich. Saturday's contest marks the sixth match between the two programs, as Alabama holds a 3-2 series advantage. The last time the two schools faced each other was in the 2005 season, when the Tide defeated Harvard in a 4-2 decision.
In last year's ITA Kick-Off Weekend event, Alabama blanked Penn, 5-0, before outlasting No. 40 Texas in a 4-3 decision. The Tide went on to fall the No. 5 North Carolina in the first round of the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships.
Routliffe and Spielmann began the season ranked No. 86 and No. 109 in singles play, respectively, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Jan. 4.
The team that wins both matches on the weekend will qualify for the 2017 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships, which is held in Flushing, N.Y., from Feb. 10-13.
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