University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
USF
No. 18 Tennessee Tops South Florida, 5-2
March 16, 2011 | Women's Tennis
March 16, 2011
By Donnie Conley, Media Relations Student Assistant
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 18-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team won its fourth consecutive match on Wednesday, defeating No. 64 South Florida, 5-2, at the USF Varsity Courts.
Tennessee co-head coach Mike Patrick expected a tough match from the Bulls and that's exactly what he got.
"We knew we had to play well," Patrick said. "They are a tough team and it was close to 80 degrees outside so heat played a factor. We played tough. It was a good match. Coming in, we knew we had our hands full and the match was very competitive. I'm really pleased with our effort."
UT (10-3, 3-0) swept all three doubles contests. Senior Jennifer Meredith and sophomore Kata Szekely increased their SEC-best doubles winning streak to 11 matches at No. 3.
In singles, freshman Millie Nichols cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Kate Parker at No. 6 to put the Big Orange ahead, 2-0. Nichols, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week earlier in the day, now has 19 singles wins to go along with 21 doubles victories on her freshman campaign.
Patrick said that the future is very bright for Nichols.
"She's doing a good job at No. 1 doubles and has anchored the No. 5/6 portion of our lineup," Patrick said. "She's grooming herself to be a top-flight player nationally. She's got all the tools to be a great one. She's working hard and doing all of the things she needs to do to improve."
Senior Maria Sorbello recorded a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 5 singles to put Tennessee up, 3-0. With the Orange and White taking the first set at five of six singles matches, it seemed UT would cruise to victory.
However, USF fought back with wins at No. 1 and 3 singles to narrow the gap to 3-2. Senior Rosalía Alda clinched the victory for Tennessee with a hard-fought, 7-5, 7-5 win over No. 100-rated Ecaterina Vasenina at No. 2 singles. Szekely battled her way to a three-set victory over Loreto Alonso Martinez at No. 4 singles to make the final score 5-2.
UT will now train in Tampa for the next few days before taking on No. 17 Notre Dame on Saturday at the USF Varsity Courts.
Despite Notre Dame's record of 8-6, Patrick said he knows the Irish are among the elite teams in the nation.
"They are always competitive," Patrick said. "We're looking forward to it. We're trying to get better every day and one way we do that is be playing better opponents. We're down here to play in the heat and get used to the elements we'll be facing soon. I'm expecting to be really competitive at every position in the lineup."
First serve for that contest is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET.
Results will be available shortly after the end of competition on UTLadyVols.com
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#18 Tennessee 5, #64 South Florida 2
Singles competition
1. #47 Irene Rehberger (USF) def. #42 Natalie Pluskota (TENN) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. Rosalía Alda (TENN) def. #100 Ecaterina Vasenina (USF) 7-5, 7-5
3. Janette Bejlkova (USF) def. Brynn Boren (TENN) 1-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
4. Kata Szekely (TENN) def. Loreto Alonso Martin (USF) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Maria Sorbello (TENN) def. Alessandra Bonte (USF) 6-2, 7-5
6. Millie Nichols (TENN) def. Kate Parker (USF) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Millie Nichols/Natalie Pluskota (TENN) def. Janette Bejlkova/Loreto Alonso Martin (USF) 8-4
2. Rosalía Alda/Maria Sorbello (TENN) def. Irene Rehberger/Ecaterina Vasenina (USF) 8-5
3. Kata Szekely/Jennifer Meredith (TENN) def. Alessandra Bonte/Kate Parker (USF) 8-4
Match Notes:
Tennessee 10-3, 3-0; National ranking #18
South Florida 4-9, 2-0; National ranking #64
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,5,1,3,2,4)
Players Mentioned
