April 17, 2008
Auburn, Ala. - The first day of the Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Championship ended with Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee moving on into the quarterfinals.
LSU won the first match, defeating Alabama 4-1. Kentucky was the second to advance, winning 4-0 over Ole Miss. Tennessee defeated Mississippi State 4-0, followed by Auburn's 4-0 victory over South Carolina.
Quarterfinal matches will begin at 10 a.m., on Friday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn. Kentucky will take on Georgia on the blue courts, while LSU faces Arkansas on the orange courts.
At 2 p.m., Auburn will compete with Florida on the blue courts and Tennessee will face Vanderbilt.
LSU 4 vs. Alabama 1
LSU's Megan Falcon clinched the match in singles for the Tigers when she defeated Tiffany Welcher 7-6 (2), 7-5. Nicole Kantor and Mykala Hedberg also picked up wins for LSU.
"This was an awfully tough match for us today," said LSU head coach Tony Minnis. "Alabama is much improved from when we played them in March. She (Falcon) is unbelievable and always finds a way to win when she's on the court."
Alabama's Shelley Goodwin picked up a win for the Tide defeating Tiffany Tucker 6-3, 6-1.
"Shelley did a nice job out there," said Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz. "Whenever a player can get out of the gates fast, the momentum carries you. Shelley won two very convincing sets."
The Tigers battled to win a tough doubles point over the Crimson Tide. Falcon and Hedberg defeated Annabel Brennes and Paulina Bigos 8-4, on court one. But Alabama's freshman duo of Welcher and Meritt Emery defeated Tucker and Hannah Robinson 8-5 on court two, leaving the doubles decision to court three.
LSU's Kantor and Staten Spencer prevailed over Shelley Goodwin and Bianca Svnesson 8-4 to clinch the doubles point for the Tigers.
"LSU is to be commended in this match," Mainz said. "We were coming after them and bringing a dog fight. Both teams fought hard."
The Tigers move onto the quarterfinals and will take on the number three-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Results
Singles
1. #12 Megan Falcon (LSU) def. Tiffany Welcher (UA) 7-6 (2), 7-5
2. Mykala Hedberg (LSU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-1, 7-5
3. Hannah Robinson (LSU) vs. Alice Tunaru (UA) DNF
4. Nicole Kantor (LSU) def. Meritt Emery (UA) 6-4, 6-0
5. Shelly Goodwin (UA) def. Tiffany Tucker (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Staten Spencer (LSU) vs. Bianca Svnesson (UA) DNF
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4, 1
Doubles
1. #22 Falcon/Hedberg (LSU) def. Brenes/Bigos (UA) 8-4
2. Welcher/Emery (UA) def. Robinson/Tucker (LSU) 8-5
3. Spencer/Kantor (LSU) def. Goodwin/Svnesson (UA) 8-4
v Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Kentucky 4 vs. Ole Miss 0
Results Kentucky won its first round when Whitney Spencer clinched with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Mimi Renaudin of Ole Miss. The Wildcats also picked up wins from Megan Broderick and Lauren Meier.
"We played a really tough Ole Miss team," said Kentucky head coach Carlos Drada. "We knew we had to compete well. This match was a lot closer than the score reflects."
The doubles point between the Wildcats and the Rebels came down to a tie breaker on court two. Ole Miss' Nina Koukhartchouk and Karen Nijessen defeated Carolina Escamilla and Christine Johnston 8-4, but the Wildcats came back on court three to win 8-4 with Lauren Meier and Whitney Spencer. Ultimately, the Cats would clinch the point in court two when Lauren van de Stroet and Mimi Renaudin fell to Megan Broderick and Alaina Trgovich 9-8 (3).
Kentucky will compete with number two Georgia at 10 a.m. tomorrow in the quarterfinals.
Singles
1. #102 Megan Broderick (UK) def. Nika Koukhartchouk (UM) 6-4, 6-2
2. Carolina Escamilla (UK) vs. Karen Nijssen (UM) DNF
3. Christine Johnston (UK) vs. Lauren van de Stroet (UM) DNF
4. Alaina Trgovich (UK) vs. Preethi Subramanian (UM) DNF
5. Lauren Meier (UK) def. Soledad Podlipnik (UM) 6-0, 6-2
6. Whitney Spencer (UK) def. Mimi Renaudin (UM) 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1)
Order of Finish:5, 1, 6
Doubles 1. Koukhartchouk/Nijssen (UM) def. #49 Escamilla/Johnston (UK) 8-4
2. Broderick/Trgovich (UK) def. van de Stroet/Renaudin (UM) 9-8 (3)
3. Meier/Spencer (UK) def. Subramanian/Podlipnik (UM) 8-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
Auburn 4 South Carolina 0
Auburn's team captain Whitney Chappell clinched the first round victory for the Tigers. Chappell defeated Suzanne Mansour 6-3, 6-3.
"It was a great effort today against a very solid South Carolina team," said Auburn head coach Tim Gray. "The team took care of business. It was a great day."
Also picking up wins for the Tigers were Fani Chifchieva and Melissa Koning. Chifchieva defeated Gira Schofield 6-4, 6-3. Koning defeated Natasa Vuckovic 6-3, 6-3.
The Tigers won the doubles point when Jil Hastenrath and Gaby Beelen won 8-4 on court three. Alex Haney and Koning also notched a doubles win on court one.
The Tigers will advance to the quarterfinals and face number one Florida at 2 p.m. on Friday.
Results
1. Fani Chifchieva (AU) def. Gira Schofield (SC) 6-4, 6-3
2. Alex Haney (AU) vs. Ana Marija Zubori (SC) DNF
3. Melissa Koning (AU) def. Natasa Vuckovic (SC) 6-3, 6-3
4. Whitney Chappell (AU) def. Suzanne Mansour (SC) 6-2, 7-5
5. Jil Hastenrath (AU) vs. Jelena Rajic (SC) DNF
6. Gaby Beelen (AU) vs. Megan McGavock (SC) DNF
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5
Doubles
1. Haney/Koning (AU) def. Schofield/Zubori (SC) 8-2
2. Chifchieva/Chappell (AU) vs. McGavock/Mansour (SC) DNF
3. Hastenrath/Gaby Beelen (AU) def. Vuckovic/Rajic (SC) 8-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
Tennessee 4 Mississippi State 0
The Tennessee defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-0. The Vols got off to a great start with a decisive doubles point.
"The team had great energy," said Tennessee co-head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick. "They stuck with the game plan and the result definitely showed. Our doubles were the key. It gave us great momentum. From there on everyone stayed focused."
In doubles, Rosalia Alda and Ghizela Schutte defeated Renee Joseph and Radka Ferancova 8-0. Connor Vogel and Jennifer Meredith clinched the doubles point with an 8-2 win.
Alda clinched the match for Tennessee when she defeated DeAndra Saddler 6-0, 7-6 (5) on court six. Also picking up wins for the Lady Vols were Vogel and Schutte on courts two and five.
Tennessee advances to the quarterfinals and will face cross-state rival Vanderbilt on Friday at 2 p.m., on the blue courts.
Results
1. Caitlin Whoriskey (TN) vs. Martina Banikova (MS) DNF
2. Ghizela Schutte (TN) def. Renee Joseph (MS) 6-0, 6-2
3. Samantha Orlin (TN) vs. Radka Ferancova (MS) DNF
4. Zsofia Zubor (TN) vs. Elna de Villiers (MS) DNF
5. Connor Vogel (TN) def. Valeriya Makarycheva (MS) 6-4, 6-1
6. Rosalia Alda (TN) def. DeAndra Saddler (MS) 6-0, 7-6 (5)
Order of Finish: 2, 5, 6
Doubles
1. Whoriskey/Zubor (TN) vs. Banikova/deVilliers (MS) DFN
2. Alda/Schutte (TN) def. Joseph/Ferancova (MS) 8-0
3. Vogel/Meredith (TN) def. Feit/Makarycheva (MS) 8-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3