Tagged with: Duke, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Memphis, North Carolina, Ohio State, Old Dominion, Stanford, TCU, Texas Tech, Women's National Team Indoors

There was tennis played again in Seattle after snow wiped out Saturday’s schedule at the Women’s National Team Indoors and while most of the favorites won there was one mild upset. In an all-SEC dual, it was the No. 5 seed Georgia coming back from 3-1 down to defeat No. 4 Vanderbilt 4-3. The Commodores took the early lead with a 7-5 win at No. 1 doubles and a 6-4 win at No. 2 and then the teams split opening sets in singles. Georgia’s Katarina Jokic put the Bulldogs on the board with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 1 but Vandy answered seconds later with a 6-2, 7-6 win from Christina Rosca at No. 2. Vandy’s Amanda Meyer extended the lead to 3-1 with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 4 and it looked like the match was all but over with Emily Smith leading 5-0 in the third at No. 5. However, Georgia junior Elena Christofi would win the next seven games to close it out 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. The Christofi comeback changed the momentum on the rest of the courts as well and both Meg Kowalski and Lourdes Carle would pull away in their third sets to complete the 4-3 Georgia win. 

“We won a lot of third set matches today, and it was super exciting out there,” said Georgia coach Jeff Wallace. “This was our biggest test so far, and we knew anybody you play out here is going to be really good, and it’s going to be a battle. It takes a lot of maturity and discipline to hang in there like Elena did after getting down 5-0 and fighting back. Katarina (Jokic) got us on the board at No. 1 with a big win in a matchup of two of the best players in the country and then two freshmen came through in Meg (Kowalski) and Lourdes. 

#5 Georgia 4, #4 Vanderbilt 3
Feb 10, 2019 at Seattle, Wa (Seattle Tennis Club)
Singles competition (1,2,4,5,6,3)
1. #2 Katarina Jokic (UGA) def. #3 Fernanda Contreras (VAN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. #12 Christina Rosca (VAN) def. #10 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) 6-2, 7-6(5)
3. #102 Lourdes Carle (UGA) def. #42 Georgia Drummy (VAN) 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-2
4. #31 Amanda Meyer (VAN) def. #58 Vivian Wolff (UGA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Elena Christofi (UGA) def. #65 Emily Smith (VAN) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
6. #84 Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. #93 Carolyn Campana (VU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition (2,1)
1. Contreras/Smith (VU) def. Carle/Wolff (UGA) 7-5
2. Rosca/Drummy (VU) def. Christofi/Coppoc (UGA) 6-4
3. Kurtz/Dvorak (VU) vs. Jokic/Kowalski (UGA) 6-5, unf.

 

Georgia’s opponent in Monday’s first semifinal will be the top seeded Stanford Cardinal after they held on defeat No. 6 seed Texas 4-3. The Cardinal claimed the doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 1 and a 7-5 win at No. 3 and then added four opening sets in singles. Michaela Gordon and Caroline Lampl won in straights for the Cardinal at No. 1 and No. 3 while the Horns picks up straight set wins from Anna Turati and Tijana Spasojevic at No. 2 and No. 6. The remaining two matches both went the distance with Texas’s Katie Poluta evening the match at 3-3 with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 however by that time Stanford’s Emily Arbuthnott had opened up a 5-1 lead at No. 4 and moments later she’s close it out 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. 

Match Point @StanfordWTennis to win 4-3. ?#ITAIndoors pic.twitter.com/pkT6Efrued

ITA Tennis (@ITA_Tennis) February 10, 2019

? thoughts from our Head Coach @joffe40 following the teams run at #ITAIndoors in Seattle. #HookEm ? pic.twitter.com/jh2ZFNRSb4

Texas Women’s Tennis ? (@TexasWTN) February 11, 2019

#1 Stanford 4, #6 Texas 3
Feb 10, 2019 at Seattle, Wa (Nordstrom Tennis Center
Singles Order of finish (3-6-2-1-5-4)
1. #23 Michaela Gordon (SU) def. Bianca Turati (UT), 6-4, 6-3
2. #49 Anna Turati (UT) def. #46 Melissa Lord (SU), 6-3, 6-3
3. #57 Caroline Lampl (SU) def. #101 Bojana Markovic (UT), 6-1, 6-3
4. #14 Emily Arbuthnott (SU) def. Fernanda Labraa (UT), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
5. Katie Poluta (UT) def. #37 Janice Shin (SU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. #107 Tijana Spasojevic (UT) def. #44 Emma Higuchi (SU), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Order of finish (1-3)
1. #10 Kimberly Yee/Caroline Lampi (SU) def. Bojana Markovic/Fernanda Labraa (UT), 6-2
2. Anna Turati/Bianca Turati (UT) vs. #13 Emily Arburthnott/Michaela Gordon (SU), 5-5, unfinished
3. #31 Melissa Lord/Niluka Madurawe (SU) def. Tijana Spasojevic/Katie Poluta (UT), 7-5

 

The other women’s semifinal will be a Tobacco Road Showdown between No. 2 North Carolina and No. 3 Duke. The Tar Heels got past No. 7 seed UCLA 4-1 while Duke defeated No. 6 seed Pepperdine 4-1. UNC won the doubles point after Makenna Jones and Cameron Morra rallied from 2-5 down in the tiebreak to win 9-7 and then the Heels added four opening sets in singles. Jessie Aney picked up a quick 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 6 and Sara Daavettila made it 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2. Alaina Miller put UCLA on the board with a 7-5, 7-5 win at No. 5 but UNC’s Alexa Graham would clinch the match with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 3.  

#3 North Carolina 4, #8 UCLA 1
2/10/2019 at Seattle, WA (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Jada Hart (UCLA) vs. #6 Makenna Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-5
2. #15 Sara Daavettila (UNC) def. #18 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
3. #7 Alexa Graham (UNC) def. #117 Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
4. #77 Abi Altick (UCLA) vs. #20 Cameron Morra (UNC) 5-7, 6-2, unfinished
5. Alaina Miller (UCLA) def. #104 Alle Sanford (UNC) 7-5, 7-5
6. Jessie Aney (UNC) def. Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Aney/Graham (UNC) def. #14 Andrews/Broomfield (UCLA) 6-0
2. #5 Jones/Morra (UNC) def. #15 Bolton/Hart (UCLA) 7-6(7)
3. Altick/Johnson (UCLA) def. Daavettila/Sanford (UNC) 6-4
Match Notes:
UCLA 5-1; National ranking #8
North Carolina 8-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,2,5,3)

 

Duke managed to take the doubles point over Pepperdine with a 6-2 win at No. 2 and a 6-4 win at No. 3 and then the Blue Devils added four opening sets in singles. Duke picked up straight set wins from Kelly Chen, Margaryta Bilokin, and Ellyse Hamlin at No. 3, No. 5, and No. 6 while Pepperdine squeezed in a point at No. 1 with Ashley Lahey winning in straight sets. 

I think the off day was a good thing for us, head coach Jamie Ashworth said. It gave a couple of our girls a chance to regroup physically. You never have a day off in the middle of a tournament like this. This Pepperdine team is one of the most talented in the country and I thought we handled ourselves well. I thought our emotion was very good. Before the match, I told them they had to be the best team on the court physically, mentally and emotionally. We set the tone in doubles with good emotion and got a win from our two seniors again. I thought as a whole, it was one of the best matches weve played against some of the best competition weve had. It was great that we rose to the challenge.

#4 Duke 4, #7 Pepperdine 1
Feb 10, 2019 at Seattle, Wash. (Seattle Tennis Club)
Singles competition
1. Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. #11 Maria Mateas (DU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #8 Meible Chi (DU) vs. #13 Evgeniya Levachova (PEPP) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
3. #21 Kelly Chen (DU) def. #52 Jessica Failla (PEPP) 6-2, 6-4
4. #100 Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) vs. Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) 7-5, 1-3, unfinished
5. Margaryta Bilokin (DU) def. Satsuki Takamura (PEPP) 6-1, 6-1
6. Ellyse Hamlin (DU) def. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #30 Maria Mateas/Margaryta Bilokin (DU) vs. #1 Ashley Lahey/Evgeniya Levachova (PEPP) 4-4, unfinished
2. Ellyse Hamlin/Kaitlyn McCarthy (DU) def. #12 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) 6-2
3. Kelly Chen/Meible Chi (DU) def. Daria Kuczer/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) 6-4
Match Notes:
Pepperdine 3-1; National ranking #7
Duke 7-0; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,6,1,3)

 

There were four consolation matches played on Sunday with most of them pretty close. The host Washington Huskies edged NC State 4-3 with freshman Nika Zupancic clinching at No. 6 with a 6-2, 6-4 win. All six singles matches finished in straight sets. Northwestern defeated LSU 4-3 with sophomore Caroline Pozo coming back from 3-0 down in the third set to win the deciding match 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. South Carolina defeated Oklahoma State 4-1 with the Gamecocks taking the doubles point and sweeping the top three spots in the singles lineup. Ohio State defeated Syracuse 5-2 with the Buckeyes taking the doubles point and picking up straight set wins at No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6. The final round of consolation matches were matches were cancelled so instead of each team playing three matches several only played two. 

 

The top match of the day on the men’s side saw No. 4 Florida come back from a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 deficit to defeat No. 15 TCU 4-3. Florida managed to take the doubles point with 6-4 wins at No. 1 and No. 3 but TCU charged back in singles and took opening sets on each of the five courts in action at the five-court indoor facility. The Horned Frogs picked up straight set wins from Alastair Gray, Reese Stalder, and Luc Fomba at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 but they couldn’t quite find that fourth point. 

Florida sophomore Oliver Crawford made it 3-2 with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 1 and junior Johannes Ingildsen fought off a match point in the final set to win 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5). By this time Florida freshman Lukas Greif was already up a set and a break at No. 6 and he’d cruise to the finish line with a match clinching 6-4, 6-2 win. 

Head Coach Bryan Shelton
“TCU played one heck of a match today. We were rock solid in doubles but they jumped on us early in singles. We hung in there long enough and played bravely in a few key spots to secure the win. Lukas Greif was cool under pressure and shut the door on them with the match on the line. I hope we learned a lot from this match. We have to stay aggressive and cool under fire to beat teams like this one. Playing defensively will not get the job done. We did enough to get the job done but we have to be tougher across the board.” 

Head Coach David Roditi
“I am obviously disappointed that we could not close it out. We had great momentum going for so long and we bounced back beautifully after losing what I thought was a doubles point that we had many opportunities for. We couldn’t break serve on the No. 1 court and we had a lot of break points. A lot of it is credit to Florida. They have had the best recruiting classes the last few years and these guys are used to being in that moment. In my opinion, they are one of the best teams in the nation. It is encouraging that we had them and it is encouraging that we played at a very high level in all spots really. That part is encouraging as well as (Luc) Fomba, Reese (Stalder) and Alastair (Gray) with their great performances. In sports you have to close it out and we didn’t close it out.  We lost our focus in some matches and we made some crucial errors at crucial times in other matches that cost us the match. At the same time, Florida didn’t. Their coaching staff did a great job at No. 1 singles. For that guy to come back from a set down and beat (Alex) Rybakov here at home shows you a lot about his character and his coaches. I am sure Rybakov is going to be disappointed we lost 4-3 and he lost one of those matches.”

#4 Florida 4, #15 TCU 3
Feb 10, 2019 at Fort Worth, Texas (Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #20 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #8 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. #75 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #27 Andres Andrade (UF) 6-4, 6-0
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #67 Sam Riffice (UF) 7-5, 6-4
4. #46 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. #83 Bertus Kruger (TCU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #109 Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4, 6-3
6. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Sander Jong (TCU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) def. Alex Rybakov/Alastair Gray (TCU) 6-4
2. #48 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-3
3. #35 Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 6-4
Match Notes:
University of Florida 5-0; National ranking #4
TCU 4-2; National ranking #15
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,5,3,1,4,6)
T-3:06 A-225

 

The other matchup between top 25 teams was a rout as No. 2 Ohio State rolled past No. 24 Georgia 4-0. The Buckeyes led the match from start to finish with doubles wins coming at No. 2 and No. 3 and then in singles they won every completed set with none closer than 6-4. Martin Joyce, Alex Kobelt, and Hunter Tubert picked up wins in the bottom three spots of the lineup while Ohio State had match points on two of the three remaining courts at the time the match was halted. 

Ty Tucker’s post-match video is available in Ohio State’s recap (wasn’t able to embed). 

#2 Ohio State 4, #24 Georgia 0
Feb 10, 2019 at Columbus, Ohio (Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #2 JJ Wolf (OSU) vs. #22 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-2, 5-3, unfinished
2. #62 John McNally (OSU) vs. #7 Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 5-1, unfinished
3. #12 Kyle Seelig (OSU) vs. #107 Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4, 5-3, unfinished
4. Martin Joyce (OSU) def. Phillip Henning (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
5. #86 Alex Kobelt (OSU) def. Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4, 6-3
6. Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Blake Croyder (UGA) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. JJ Wolf/Martin Joyce (OSU) def. #31 Robert Loeb/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 5-4
2. Alex Kobelt/James Trotter (OSU) def. #46 Phillip Henning/Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4
3. John McNally/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Alex Diaz/Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Georgia 1-3; National ranking #24
Ohio State 8-0; National ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,6,5)
Official: Marcus Lee T-1:42 A-351 

 

Texas Tech picked up a ranked win at home over No. 19 Tulane. The Red Raiders won the doubles point with 6-4 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 and then added straight set wins from Tommy Mylnikov, Parker Wynn, and Franco Ribero at No. 1, No. 2, and No. 6 while Tulane picked up straight set wins from Hamish Stewart and Tyler Schick at No. 3 and No. 5.

“It was an interesting day, but I’m so proud of our guys,” head coach Brett Masi said. “It was a very good team win. I was especially impressed with Parker and Franco. Parker picked up a couple of ranked wins this weekend and for Franco to come out this early in his career and help the team is huge for us. The past couple of weeks have been a real test for us, but I’m happy with the way we’ve responded against some very good competition.”

Texas Tech 4, #19 Tulane 2
Feb 10, 2019 at Lubbock, Texas
Singles competition
1. #78 Tommy Mylnikov (TTU) def. Ewan Moore (TLN) 6-4, 6-4
2. Parker Wynn (TTU) def. #42 Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-1, 6-2
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. Bjorn Thomson (TTU) 6-1, 7-5
4. Ilgiz Valiev (TTU) vs. Dane Esses (TLN) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, unfinished
5. #76 Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Artem Kapshuk (TTU) 6-3, 6-0
6. Franco Ribero (TTU) def. Akos Kotorman (TLN) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #14 Bjorn Thomson/Parker Wynn (TTU) def. Ewan Moore/Akos Kotorman (TLN) 6-4
2. Jackson Cobb/Tommy Mylnikov (TTU) def. Hamish Stewart/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-4
3. Artem Kapshuk/Matheus Leite (TTU) vs. Luis Erlenbusch/Tyler Schick (TLN) 4-5, unfinished
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,5,3,1,6,4)

 

 

LSU improved to 7-1 after coming back from 3-1 down to defeat Memphis 4-3. Memphis took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but LSU came back in singles with four opening sets. LSU’s Joey Thomas scored the only straight set win at No. 5 to tie the match at 1-1 while all the other courts would go the distance. Memphis won at No. 1 and No. 2 to make it 3-1 but LSU won at No. 3 and No. 4 to even it at 3-3. The win by Boris Kozlov at No. 4 was 7-6(4). In the deciding match at No. 6 it was LSU freshman Nick Watson coming back from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3. 

Co-Head Coach Chris Brandi on the Match
It was a tough win today, co-head coach Chris Brandi said. It wasnt pretty, but the guys found a way and competed against a really good team on the road. We definitely need to work on a few areas in the next week to be ready for two more tough road matches.

“That was a fantastic college tennis match,” Head Coach Paul Goebel said. “It started in doubles, which was so competitive. It was probably one of the better points we have played all year. In singles, every match was so close. When you get two teams that are pretty evenly matched and have had success in the past, that’s the kind of match you expect. We were just a point or two short today.”

“We don’t need to change a lot. We’re doing pretty well,” Goebel added. “For some of these guys, getting into a close match like this was a new experience. The more competitive situations we can put them in, the better.”

LSU 4, Memphis 3
Feb 10, 2019 at Memphis, TN (Racquet Club of Memphis)
Singles competition
1. Chris Patzanovsky (MEM) def. Shane Monroe (LSU) 7-6 (7-1), 2-6, 6-4
2. Jan Pallares (MEM) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
3. Malik Bhatnagar (LSU) def. Matt Story (MEM) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
4. Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. David Stevenson (MEM) 6-2, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Joey Thomas (LSU) def. Oscar Cutting (MEM) 6-3, 6-4
6. Nick Watson (LSU) def. Patrick Sydow (MEM) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Oscar Cutting/David Stevenson (MEM) def. #30 Rafael Wagner/Joey Thomas (LSU) 6-2
2. Jan Pallares/Patrick Sydow (MEM) def. Daniel Moreno/Shane Monroe (LSU) 6-4
3. Matt Story/Jeremy Taylor (MEM) vs. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
LSU 7-1
Memphis 8-2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,2,1,3,4,6)

 

Old Dominion went on the road and upset No. 24 Tennessee 4-3. The Monarchs dropped the doubles point but went in front 2-1 after straight set wins from Nataliia Vlasova and Alesya Yakubovich at No. 2 and No. 6. The Vols countered with wins from Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva at No. 5 and No. 4 but ODU took the final two courts with Holly Hutchinson winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 1 and Oleksanda Andrieieva winning 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 at No. 3. 

We fought so hard as a team today, said ODU head coach Dominic Manilla. I was so proud of everyone. When we secured the fourth point and we all came together, the feelings we shared as a team is something Ill never forget. We have a tough schedule ahead of us. We will use this victory as motivation to keep moving forward and to keep getting better.”

“We played Old Dominion last year and I think that they compete really well,” Tennessee head coach Alison Ojeda said. “I think we saw a team in singles that came out and competed in every single spot and we weren’t surprised by that. The thing that’s good about that is it allows our team to figure out what we can work on. If we do those things, we can still be really good this season.

BEAT N24 TENNESSEE???? @ODUWomensTennis pic.twitter.com/gFtsj4OpmT

Holly Hutchinson (@HollyRLH) February 10, 2019

Old Dominion 4, #24 Tennessee 3
Feb 10, 2019 at Knoxville, Tenn. (Goodfriend Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Holly Hutchinson (ODU) def. Sadie Hammond (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
2. Nataliia Vlasova (ODU) def. Kaitlin Staines (UT) 7-6, 6-1
3. Oleksanda Andrieieva (ODU) def. Ariadna Riley (UT) 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Johanna Silva (UT) def. Yulia Starodubtseva (ODU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
5. Rebeka Mertena (UT) def. Brooke Pilkington (ODU) 7-6, 6-2
6. Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) def. Maia Haumuller (UT) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #17 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (UT) def. Holly Hutchinson/Brooke Pilkington (ODU) 6-2
2. Tenika McGiffin/Maia Haumuller (UT) def. Yulia Starodubtseva/Oleksanda Andrieieva (ODU) 6-3
3. Ariadna Riley/Rebeka Mertena (UT) dnf. Nataliia Vlasova/Natalya Malenko (ODU) 5-4
Match Notes:
Old Dominion University 7-1
Tennessee 3-2; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,2,5,4,1,3)

 

Other Results:

• (M) #6 Texas def Arkansas 6-1 – Horns won four singles matches in straight sets 
• (M) #12 Columbia def. St. John’s 6-1 – Lions only dropped two games in doubles
• (M) #16 Michigan def. UCF 6-1 – Wolverines dropped the doubles point but swept singles with half coming in straights and other in three sets. 
• (M) #23 Alabama def. Pepperdine 4-0 – Tide won 10 of 12 sets in singles
• (M) Dartmouth def. Drake 4-3 – Freshman Sid Chari won the deciding match at No. 5 singles 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)
• (M) Arizona State def Indiana 4-2 – Sun Devils picked up a road win with Makey Rakotomala clinching with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 win at No. 6
• (W) Illinois def. Oregon 4-3 – Mia Rabinowitz clinched at No. 4 with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 win – Oregon won the final two courts after the clinch
• (W) Columbia def. Princeton 4-1 to win the ECAC Indoor Championship – Lions dropped the doubles point but picked up 3 three-set wins in singles on top of a straight set win at No. 3

 

***All quotes are from the respective school’s recaps