University of Illinois
Tennessee
No. 25 Illini Edged by No. 13 Tennessee, 4-3
January 23, 2011 | Women's Tennis
Jan. 23, 2011
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Box Score
URBANA, Ill. - Despite taking an early advantage in doubles, the 25th-ranked Illini women's tennis team (0-2) came up just short in singles to fall 4-3 to No. 13 Tennessee (1-0) Sunday afternoon at Atkins Tennis Center. Juniors Chelcie Abajian and Amy Allin each collected wins in singles and doubles to lead the Illini.
"I was really impressed with Amy once again and Chelcie playing to win at the end," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "We fought back hard in doubles. Nos. 1 and 2 doubles didn't give up and No. 3 doubles did a great job of just getting off the court quickly, so that helped with our momentum."
Allin and senior Marisa Lambropoulos downed Whitney Wofford and Kata Szekely, 8-3, while Abajian and sophomore Breanne Smutko rallied back to pull off the upset over No. 9 Rosalia Alda and Millie Nichols, 9-8 (5), to give the Illini a 1-0 lead heading into singles.
The Lady Vols quickly took control after the break, however, capturing four straight matches to clinch the win. Although the match was already decided, Abajian and Allin remained resilient in their respective matches, as Allin rallied back from two games down in the second set to complete the 6-4, 6-4 sweep over No. 116 Maria Sorbello, while Abajian held on to defeat No. 87 Alda, 7-5, 2-6, 10-3.
Next up for the Illini is the ITA Kick-Off Weekend which will get underway Jan. 29-30 at the top 15 nationally ranked teams in the final 2010 team rankings. Illinois earned the No. 2 seed at host and top-seeded Georgia Tech and will face third-seeded South Florida on Jan. 29. The Illini will then meet the winner or loser of No. 16 Georgia Tech and fourth-seeded Iowa the following day.
The 15 schools that win both of their matches at these events will be invited to play in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Virginia, Feb. 18-21.
Match Results
#13 Tennessee 4, #25 Illinois 3
Singles competition
1. Natalie Pluskota (TENN) def. Breanne Smutko (ILL) 6-3, 6-4
2. #20 Brynn Boren (TENN) def. #100 Rachael White (ILL) 6-3, 6-3
3. Chelcie Abajian (ILL) def. #87 Rosalia Alda (TENN) 7-5, 2-6, 10-3
4. Amy Allin (ILL) def. #116 Maria Sorbello (TENN) 6-4, 6-4
5. Kata Szekely (TENN) def. Misia Kedzierski (ILL) 6-2, 6-0
6. Millie Nichols (TENN) def. Allison Falkin (ILL) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Brynn Boren/Natalie Pluskota (TENN) def. #15 Rachael White/Allison Falkin (ILL) 8-6
2. Breanne Smutko/Chelcie Abajian (ILL) def. #9 Rosalia Alda/Millie Nichols (TENN) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Marisa Lambropoulos/Amy Allin (ILL) def. Whitney Wofford/Kata Szekely (TENN) 8-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,2,1,6,3,4)
