University of Alabama Team Page

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Crimson Tide women’s tennis team earned a combined six wins on Saturday between its matches at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and the Roberta Alison Fall Classic, which was being held on its home courts.

Mary Anne Macfarlane continued her run in the back draw of the All-American Championships, and will play in the singles final after beating 19th-ranked Joelle Kissell of North Carolina State, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals. It will be an all-Southeastern Conference final on Sunday as Macfarlane is slated to take on No. 4 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar of Texas A&M at 10:30 a.m. CT.

Alabama also played its final three rounds of matches on Saturday at the Roberta Alison Fall Classic, picking up three victories in doubles and another two in singles.

“We are definitely improving as was evidenced in our match play this weekend,” said Alabama head coach Jenny Mainz. “We’re competing better and playing with more confidence. I was encouraged with some adjustments that the girls were making on court. They’re doing a better job of working through problems and situations under pressure.”

The Tide’s Emily Zabor and Natalia Maynetto dropped their first doubles match of the day with an 8-3 loss to Clemson’s Beatrice Gumulya and Tristen Dewar, but came back in their second match for an 8-3 win over Northwestern’s Belinda Niu and Alicia Barnett. Maya Jansen, and partner Plamena Kurteva from Auburn, dominated again in their draw with an 8-4 win over UAB’s Isabel Fernandez and Elaine Simon followed by an 8-1 victory against Florida State’s Laurence Porry and Kristina Schleich.

In singles, both Maynetto and Zabor battled back from first-set losses to win their respective matches in three, with Maynetto beating Auburn’s Paulina Schippers 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, while Zabor topped Clemson’s Romy Koelzer, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

“I was pleased to see Emily finish strong with a lot of confidence,” added Mainz. “She has worked hard and had a breakthrough match at the tournament at Furman a couple weeks ago. She did a good job of following that up this weekend with more consistency.”

For more news on the women's tennis team, like the Tide on Facebook by searching for AlabamaWTN and on twitter @AlabamaWTN.

RESULTS
RIVIERA/ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Singles
No. 10 Mary Anne Macfarlane (UA) def. No. 19 Joelle Kissell (NCSU) 6-3, 6-3

ROBERTA ALISON FALL CLASSIC
Doubles
Gumulya/Dewar (CU) def. Zabor/Maynetto (UA) 8-3
Zabor/Maynetto (UA) def. Niu/Barnett (NW) 8-3
Jansen (UA)/Kurteva (AU) def. Simon/Fernandez (UAB) 8-4
Jansen (UA)/Kurteva (AU) def. Porry/Schleich (FSU) 8-1

Singles
Frances Altick (VU) def. Maya Jansen (UA) 6-4, 6-2
Emily Zabor (Alabama) def. Romy Koelzer (Clemson) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Natalia Maynetto (Alabama) def. Paulina Schippers (Auburn) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3