No. 49 Alabama Women’s Tennis Drops Hard-Fought Battle to No. 12 Ole Miss, 4-2

Thursday, March 8

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

5 p.m.

Alabama

University of Mississippi

No. 49 Alabama Women’s Tennis Drops Hard-Fought Battle to No. 12 Ole Miss, 4-2

3/8/2018 9:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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The Crimson Tide will host Mississippi State and UT Martin in a Saturday doubleheader on March 10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 49 Alabama women's tennis team fell to No. 12 Ole Miss, 4-2, Thursday night in a down-to-the-wire match inside the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility.

"We knew it was going to be a dogfight," head coach Jenny Mainz said. "All SEC matches are dogfights. We got a great start getting the doubles point. I thought we played one of the better doubles points this season. We got some momentum, but I didn't get excited, it's like being zero, zero. Although we got that point, singles are six points. You have to get ready to buckle down and do the work."

"Ole Miss is a good team," continued Mainz. "They are a quality team. They compete hard. I think they played a very good match with a lot of grit and tenacity, but I think we did too. We have to just keep working, you can't get too high, and you can't get too low. Mississippi State presents a great opportunity on Saturday and we have to forget this one, learn from it, move on and be ready to compete."

The Crimson Tide (12-6, 0-3 SEC) took the early 1-0 lead after seizing the doubles point, but the Rebels (10-3, 1-2 SEC) won four out of the six singles matches to secure the win.

The sophomore duo of Ann Selim and Alba Cortina-Pou took control early, topping Jandric/Machalova, 6-2, at No. 2, but the Rebels' 11^th-ranked doubles team in the country topped junior Andie Daniell and sophomore Luca Fabian, 6-3, at No. 1. At No. 3, it came down to the wire, as sophomore Jacqueline Pelletier and senior Smith Hinton knotted the set at six apiece to force a tiebreaker, and later clinched the match, 7-6(3) to give the Tide the lead.

In singles, Ole Miss won back-to-back matches, defeating Fabian, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 5 and topping Hinton, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2, to take the 2-1 advantage. Then, the Crimson Tide captured the equalizer as Cortina-Pou took care of Alexa Bortles, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 6, but, Ole Miss' Natalie Suk regained the Rebels' lead, 3-2, after winning at No. 3, 6-4, 6-4.

Then, in an intense top-125 matchup at No. 1, Daniell battled back from dropping the first set, 7-6(3), and pulled out a 6-4 win in set two to push the match into a third set, but the 13^th-ranked Arianne Hartono took set three, 6-2, to clinch the match for the Rebels.

Up next, Alabama will remain in Tuscaloosa for a Saturday doubleheader against Mississippi State and UT Martin on March 10. The Crimson Tide will battle the Bulldogs a noon CT, and will later challenge the Skyhawks at 6 p.m. CT. Saturday's match will serve as the Power of Pink match and before competition, former members of the Alabama women's tennis program will be recognized.

Alabama Match Results:

#12 Ole Miss 4, #49 Alabama 2

Doubles

1. #11 Hartono/Bortles (OM) def. Daniell/Fabian (UA) 6-3

2. Selim/Cortina-Pou (UA) def. Jandric/Machalova (OM) 6-2

3. Pelletier/Hinton (UA) def. Sanford/Janatova (OM) 7-6(3)

Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles

1. #13 Arianne Hartono (OM) def. #124 Andie Daniell (UA) 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2

2. #106 Sabina Machalova (OM) def. Smith Hinton (UA) 6-2, 6-2

3. Natalie Suk (OM) def. Jacqueline Pelletier (UA) 6-4, 6-4

4 Ann Selim (UA) vs. #69 Tea Jandric (OM) 7-5, 2-6 unfinished

5. Anna Vrbenska (OM) def. Luca Fabian (UA) 6-1, 6-2

6. Alba Cortina-Pou (UA) def. Alexa Bortles (OM) 6-4, 6-2

Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 6, 1

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