Natalia Maynetto clinches the win for Alabama on court six.
University of Alabama Team Page
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The ninth-ranked women's tennis team took down No. 20 Clemson, 4-2, on Sunday at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Center in the championship match of ITA Kick-Off Weekend. With the win, the Crimson Tide advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which will be held Feb. 8-11, in Charlottesville, Va.
"We did a great job from top to bottom today," said Alabama head coach Jenny
Mainz. "Everyone was locked into their court and not worried about what was going on elsewhere. They were really focused on what they could do individually to help the team be successful. Going to National Indoors will be a great opportunity for the Crimson Tide."
Doubles was a battle from top to bottom, but
Alabama would come up with the point after securing wins on courts one and two. The Tide's No. 2 ranked team of senior Alexa Guarachi and junior Mary Anne Macfarlane put Alabama in front with an 8-5 win over Tristen Dewar and Yana Koroleva before Clemson's Beatrice Gumulya and Anne-Liz Jeukeng evened the match with an 8-6 victory on court three over Tide sophomores Emily Zabor and Yasmeen Ebada. In another dramatic finish, senior Antonia Foehse and Maya Jansen would come back to outlast Tiger Romy Koelzer and Ani Miao, 8-7(5).
In singles, Foehse would give Alabama a 2-0 advantage in the match, cruising to a 6-2, 6-0 victory on court four over Dewar.
Clemson earned its first point of the match with a win on court two, but the Tide would again pull in front by two as Zabor beat 69th Koelzer, 7-5, 6-2. Shortly after, the Tigers would collect their second, and final, point with a win on court one. Freshman Natalia Maynetto would deliver the clinching win at No. 6, topping Miao, 7-5, 6-2.
Alabama will play its first road matches of the season next weekend when it heads to Texas to take on TCU and SMU.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. No. 2 Guarachi/Macfarlane (UA) def. Dewar/Koroleva (CU) 8-5
2. Jansen/Foehse (UA) def. Koelzer/Miao (CU) 8-7(5)
3. Gumulya/Jeukeng (CU) def. Zabor/Ebada (UA) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1,3,2
Singles
1. No. 32 Yana Koroleva (CU) def. No. 12 Mary Anne Macfarlane (UA) 7-5, 7-6(3)
2. Anne-Liz Jeukeng (CU) def. No. 13 Alexa Guarachi (UA) 6-4, 6-1
3. No. 59 Maya Jansen vs. No. 77 Beatrice Gumulya (CU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unf.
4. Antonia Foehse (UA) def. Tristen Dewar (CU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Emily Zabor (UA) def. No. 69 Romy Koelzer (CU) 7-5, 6-2
6. No. 105 Natalia Maynetto (UA) def. Ani Miao (CU) 7-5, 6-2
