Women's Tennis Falls in Back-and-Forth Battle Against Michigan State, 5-2

Thursday, February 6

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

5 p.m. CT

Alabama

Michigan State

Women's Tennis Falls in Back-and-Forth Battle Against Michigan State, 5-2

2/6/2020 9:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Results (PDF)Photo Gallery

The Crimson Tide moved to 6-1 on the season

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's tennis team dropped a hard-fought match to Michigan State, 5-2, Thursday night in the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Facility. The Spartans (3-3) handed the Crimson Tide (6-1) their first loss of the dual match season.

Senior Alba Cortina Pou, who was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, remained undefeated, extending her record to a 6-0 mark.

From Coach Mainz

"Michigan State is an aggressive team and I think that was a big difference-maker. On big points, they were willing to step in and take control of the matches and it made a difference. It put a lot of pressure on us, causing us to be a little more defensive. When you're playing indoors, you have to be willing to step up and take a couple calculated chances, but you have to be aggressive. I thought we were a little bit too much on our heels. We lost the doubles point and then we lost four first sets in singles – that's the bad news. The good news is we battled back in every one of those matches. We split sets on every court and were clawing and fighting, but we need a better start."

Doubles

The Tide fell short in doubles play, with No. 56 junior Moka Ito and freshman Isabella Harvison grabbing the only win, 6-2. Freshman Sasha Gorchanyuk and Cortina Pou fought back from a 4-0 deficit to tie it 5-5, but ultimately could not complete the comeback.

Singles

Alabama showed their toughness and determination as all six singles matches went into a third set. With the Spartans leading 3-0, Coutina Pou earned the first point for the Tide with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win, followed by Harvison who topped her opponent, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, cutting MSU's advantage to one. Despite much effort, Ito dropped her final set, allowing MSU to clinch the match.

Up Next

The Crimson Tide will host Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. CT. Fans can follow along with a live stream and live stats on RollTide.com.

Alabama Results

Doubles Results

No. 56 Harvison/Ito def. Lemonds/Pietrowicz, 6-2
Lewis/Timotin def. Cortina Pou/Gorchanyuk, 7-5
Memije/Stephens def. Selim/Teixido, 6-0

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles Results

Mary Lewis def. Moka Ito, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Isabella Harvison def. Samantha Memije, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4
Alba Cortina Pou def. Lauren Lemonds, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Nicole Stephens def. Ares Teixido, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Jennifer Timotin def. Sasha Gorchanyuk, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Maja Pietrowicz def. Ann Selim, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3

Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6

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