March 2, 2007
The Auburn women's tennis team suffered a heartbreaking loss Friday against the No. 31 Kentucky Wildcats. After battling it out for over five hours on the Auburn Intramural Courts, the Tigers were defeated, 4-3.
The loss starts the women off with a 0-1 record in SEC play, and leaves their season record at 5-3.
"We had a lot of chances, but this is the first match of the SEC season, and I believe we did a great job," said Auburn head coach Tim Gray. "We made a lot of huge steps and we are going to get our share of wins. We just can't let this get us down. The girls gave everything out on the court, and that's all I've ever asked."
Auburn started out strong, capturing the doubles point effortlessly. Sophomore Alex Haney and freshman Melissa Koning dominated on court No.1, winning their match, 8-3. Their victory came against the No.2 doubles team in the country, Kentucky's Kim Coventry and Joelle Schwenk. Not far behind, sophomore Whitney Chappell and freshman Fani Chifchieva triumphed over Carolina Escamilla and Sarah Woestmann in the No.2 match, 8-5. In the No.3 spot, Kentucky's Whitney Spencer and Caroline Winebrenner barely defeated sophomore Kelly Adams and freshman Jil Hastenrath, 8-7.
The Tigers went into singles play with hopeful hearts and a 1-0 lead; however, the Wildcats came to life with a vengeance. On the No.6 court, Auburn's Kelly Adams dropped her match to Jessica Giuggioli, 6-1, 6-0.
Trying to get their team's momentum back up, Fani Chifchieva and Alex Haney tore the courts apart in the No.1 and No. 3 spots. Chifchieva defeated Kentucky's Kim Coventry, 6-2, 6-3, in the No.1 match. Following suit, Haney found success against Carolina Escamilla on the No.3 court winning, 6-3, 6-3.
Halfway through singles play Auburn lead 3-1, but tension was high on court No.2. After a hard fought battle, Melissa Koning dropped her match, 7-5, 7-5, to the Wildcat's Joelle Schwenk.
More disappointment followed in match No.4 as Auburn loss in a breathtaking tiebreaker as Whitney Chappell fell to Kentucky's Sarah Woestmann, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6. The same could be said for the match on court No.5, where Auburn's Jil Hastenrath went on to play three grueling sets against Whitney Spencer. The match finally ended with Spencer winning, 6-1, 6-7, 7-5.
The Tigers will be back in action this Sunday as they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at the Auburn Intramural Courts at 12:00 p.m. CT.
Doubles
1. Koning/Haney (AU) def. Coventry/Schwenk (UK) 8-3
2. Chappell/Chifchieva (AU) def. Escamilla/Woestmann (UK) 8-5
3. Spencer/Winebrenner (UK) def. Hastenrath/Adams (AU) 8-7
Singles
1. Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. Kin Coventry (UK) 6-2, 6-3
2. Joelle Schwenk (UK) def. Melissa Koning (AU) 7-5, 7-5
3. Alex Haney (AU) def. Carolina Escamilla (UK) 6-3, 6-3
4. Sarah Woestmann (UK) def. Whitney Chappell (AU) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Jil Hastenrath (AU) 6-1, 6-7 (8-10), 7-5
6. Jessica Giuggioli (UK) def. Kelly Adams (AU) 6-1, 6-0