Sunday, 01/31/2010

Horns get singles win from Vanja Corovic, but Lady Vols clinch the match with Texas leading at two other singles positions.

 

                KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 30 Texas (1-1) mounted a formidable rally in singles play and picked up a win from senior Vanja Corovic, but host No. 11 Tennessee (3-0) held off the Longhorns and prevailed by a 4-1 count Friday afternoon at Tennessee’s Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center.

The match was played in conjunction with the annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend.  A win over Tennessee and an additional win Saturday over Vanderbilt would have given Texas a berth in the upcoming ITA National Team Indoor Championships at The University of Wisconsin.  With the Horns out of contention for that berth, Texas now will turn its attention to TCU, whom the Horns meet on Saturday at 8 a.m. Central in Knoxville.  

                Tennessee started off the match by winning a pair of doubles matches to secure the doubles point.  Texas’ 27th-ranked tandem of junior Amanda Craddock and sophomore Krista Damico suffered an 8-1 defeat at first doubles to the nation’s top-ranked duo of Caitlin Whoriskey and Natalie Pluskota.

The Lady Vols added the clinching win at second doubles, as Rosalia Alda and Zsofia Zubor and knocked off the Longhorns’ Vanja Corovic and Aeriel Ellis, 8-5.  The remaining match at third doubles pitting Texas’ Sarah Lancaster and Caroline Larsson against Tennessee’s Jennifer Meredith and Maria Sorbello was suspended at 7-all when the Lady Vols nailed down the doubles point at the second slot.

With four courts available for use at Tennessee’s indoor facility, positions one through four went on first with the matches at fifth and sixth singles going on after two of the first four matches completed.  Tennessee would stretch its lead to 2-0 at the first slot, where the sixth-ranked Whoriskey tallied a 6-1, 6-1 over Texas’ 22nd-ranked Ellis.  The Longhorns got on the board at third singles, where the 59th-ranked Corovic posted a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over the Lady Vols’ Pluskota.

Tennessee pushed its lead to 3-1 at fourth singles as Alda knocked off Texas’ Craddock by a 6-4, 6-3 count.  At second singles, UT’s Damico took the first set off of Tennessee’s Sorbello, 7-5 but was unable to finish off the win.  Sorbello took the second set, 6-3 before claiming the third set, 6-1 to deliver the clinching point for the Lady Vols.

Texas’ Larsson and Lancaster held one-set leads in their matches at fifth and sixth singles, respectively, though their matches were abandoned when Tennessee clinched the 4-1 win.      

 

ITA Kick-Off Weekend

No. 11 Tennessee 4, No. 30 Texas 1

Goodfriend Indoor Tennis Center – Knoxville, Tenn.

Doubles – Order of Finish:  1, 2

1 #1 Caitlin Whoriskey/Natalie Pluskota (Tenn.) def. #27 Amanda Craddock/Krista Damico (Texas) – 8-1

2 Rosalia Alda/Zsofia Zubor (Tenn.) def. Vanja Corovic/Aeriel Ellis (Texas) – 8-5

3 Jennifer Meredith/Maria Sorbello (Tenn.) vs. Sarah Lancaster/Caroline Larsson (Texas) – 7-7, susp.

Singles – Order of Finish:  1, 3, 4, 2

1 No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey (Tenn.) def. No. 22 Aeriel Ellis (Texas) – 6-1, 6-1

2 No. 51 Maria Sorbello (Tenn.) def. No. 27 Krista Damico (Texas) - 5-7, 6-3, 6-1

3 No. 59 Vanja Corovic (Texas) def. Natalie Pluskota (Tenn.) – 6-2, 6-2

4 Rosalía Alda (Tenn.) def. Amanda Craddock (Texas) – 6-4, 6-3

5 Caroline Larsson (Texas) vs. Zsofia Zubor (Tenn.) – 7-6 (3), 1-1, susp.

6 Sarah Lancaster (Texas) vs. Katie Lee (Tenn.) – 6-3, 2-1, susp.