Jan. 26, 2008

Box Score

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Illinois women's tennis team had a great start in doubles in Knoxville, Tenn., this afternoon, but could not keep the momentum going as the Illini suffered a tough 6-1 loss at the hands of No. 22 Tennessee at the Goodfriend Tennis Center today. With the loss, Illinois dropped to 2-2 on the young season, while the Lady Volunteers improved to 3-0.

To start off the match, the Illini were set to give the home squad a run for its money after a narrow 4-3 loss at the hands of No. 62 Western Michigan in its last outing at the Atkins Tennis Center.

In doubles today, Tennessee scored a quick victory at No. 3 singles to start things off, but close calls on courts one and two could have been the turning point for Illinois in a possible upset bid.

In fact, Illinois led by a score of 7-4 on both courts one and two and were pressuring to take the doubles point. However, despite tough fights from Illinois, the Lady Volunteers would not be put away, as No. 26-ranked Ghizela Schutte and freshman Rosalia Alda (TENN) forced a tiebreaker on court two against freshmen Annie McCarthy and Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL). Scoring four of the final five games of the set, UT's duo had momentum heading into the tiebreaker, using that to their advantage to seal the doubles point behind a 9-8(4) victory. Following closely after on court one, No. 2-ranked Caitlin Whoriskey and Zsófia Zubor (TENN) were struggling early against sophomore Megan Fudge and redshirt Freshman Leigh Finnegan (ILL), 7-4, but refused to go down, eventually claiming the slim victory, 9-8(2).

Tennessee, with its back against the wall for most of the doubles portion of the afternoon, used its home advantage and resurgent play to start off singles strong as well.

Sophomore Kristina Minor (ILL) claimed the lone win for the Illini in the match, as she rebounded nicely from a first-set loss to No. 95 Zsófia Zubor (UT), 6-1, to claim the second frame, 6-4. Minor (ILL) finally put away the Lady Volunteer in the match tiebreak, 10-6, in the third.

Overall, the day would be a match of missed chances for Illinois. Letting Tennessee slip through their fingers in doubles, Tennessee then claimed wins on court one, four and nabbed the match clinching win on court three, another come-from-behind victory. In fact, Lambropoulos (ILL) led by a break at 5-2 at No. 3 singles before Tennessee's Samantha Orlin (TENN) stormed back to take the final five games of the set, 7-5, before cruising through the second set, 6-2.

Illinois returns to the courts for its second straight road match this season when it travels to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on Florida State on Feb. 3. The Illini's next home match is on Feb. 8, when they take on DePaul for a 6 p.m. match at the Atkins Tennis Center.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE 6, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 1
1/26/2008 AT KNOXVILLE, TENN. (GOODFRIEND TENNIS CENTER)

Singles competition
1. Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) def. Megan Fudge (ILL) 6-0, 6-4
2. Ghizela Schutte (UT) def. Leigh Finnegan (ILL) 6-4, 6-3
3. Samantha Orlin (UT) def. Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) 7-5, 6-2
4. Jennifer Meredith (UT) def. Momei Qu (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
5. Kristina Minor (ILL) def. #95 Zsófia Zubor (UT) 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6)
6. Rosalia Alda (UT) def. Shivani Dave (ILL) 7-5, 7-6 (2)

Doubles competition
1. #2 Caitlin Whoriskey / Zsófia Zubor (UT) def. Megan Fudge / Leigh Finnegan (ILL) 9-8(4)
2. #26 Rosalia Alda / Ghizela Schutte (UT) def. Annie McCarthy / Marisa Lambropoulos (ILL) 9-8(2)
3. Samantha Orlin / Jennifer Meredith (UT) def. Kristina Minor / Shivani Davé (ILL) 8-4

Match Notes
University of Illinois 2-2, 0-0 Big Ten
University of Tennessee 3-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6)