Sunday, 01/31/2010

Crimson Tide dips to 2-2 on the season

 

ATLANTA – The No. 24 Alabama women’s tennis team dropped a tough 4-2 decision to the 29th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils Sunday at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the campus of Georgia Tech. With the loss, the Crimson Tide falls to 2-2 on the season. The Sun Devils improve their record to 3-1 with the victory.

 

Alabama got off to a solid start once again, taking the doubles point from Arizona State. The Sun Devils grabbed an 8-4 win on court two, as senior Paulina Bigos and freshman Antonia Foehse could not keep up with Arizona State’s Hannah James and Kelcy McKenna. The Tide countered with a comfortable victory on court one from sophomore Courtney McLane and freshman Alexa Guarachi, as they took down Micaela Hein and Nadia Abdala 8-5. The doubles point was decided by the match at the No. 3 position, and it was Alabama’s junior Meritt Emery and senior Alice Tunaru fighting off Amanda Martin and Sianna Simmons of Arizona State 9-7 to clinch for the Tide.

 

With only three courts available due to play being held indoors, the matchups at positions one, two, and three were the first three matches on court. The Sun Devils quickly evened the overall match score at 1-1, as No. 68 Hein posted a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Bigos at the No. 3 spot. The Tide jumped back ahead thanks to Guarachi’s win on court two, as she cruised past Abdala 6-3, 6-2. The final match of the first three went to Arizona State’s McKenna, who is ranked No. 58 in the nation. McKenna was too much for McLane to handle at the No. 1 position, taking the match 6-3, 7-5.

 

Alabama was forced to try and overcome a forfeit at the No. 6 spot by Emery. The forfeit put the Sun Devils ahead 3-2 with two matches left to be decided. Arizona State wasted little time in taking full advantage and clinched the match when James knocked off Tunaru 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot. Foehse was a game away from claiming her match at the No. 5 position. She took the first set from Simmons in a tiebreak 7-6 (1) and held a 6-5 lead in the second when play was halted.

 

Next up, the Tide will look to get back on track when it travels to Norman, Okla. to take on the Oklahoma Sooners. The match is slated to begin at Noon (CST) on Saturday, Feb. 6.

 

RESULTS

Doubles

1. Guarachi/McLane (UA) def. Hein/Abdala (ASU) 8-5

2. James/Kelcy McKenna (ASU) def. Bigos/Foehse (UA) 8-4

3. Emery/Alice Tunaru (UA) def. Martin/Simmons (ASU) 9-7

Order of finish: 2,1,3

 

Singles

1. No. 58 Kelcy McKenna (ASU) def. Courtney McLane (UA) 6-3, 7-5

2. No. 82 Alexa Guarachi (UA) def. Nadia Abdala (ASU) 6-3, 6-2

3. No. 68 Micaela Hein (ASU) def. Paulina Bigos (UA) 6-2, 6-3

4. Hannah James (ASU) def. Alice Tunaru (UA) 6-3, 6-3

5. Antonia Foehse (UA) vs. Sianna Simmons (ASU) 7-6(1), 6-5, unf.

6. Amanda Martin (ASU) def. Meritt Emery (UA), by forfeit

Order of finish: 3,2,1,4*