University of Tennessee Athletics
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Kentucky
Tennis Dominates Kentucky, 6-1
March 11, 2011 | Women's Tennis
March 11, 2011
By Donnie Conley, Media Relations Student Assistant
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 21-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis team continued its solid start to Southeastern Conference play with a 6-1 victory over Kentucky on Friday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.
The Lady Vols (8-3, 2-0) were playing their first outdoor home match of the season. Co-head coach Sonia Hahn-Patrick was pleased with how her team responded.
"We haven't been able to play a lot of outdoor matches," Hahn-Patrick said. "It was cold but it was really important for us to play outdoors, especially since we have Vanderbilt on Sunday."
Freshman Brynn Boren, the nation's No. 31-rated player, returned to the singles lineup for the first time since Feb. 5. She was rusty early, but rallied from a 3-0 first set deficit to win, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3 singles and clinch the victory for the Lady Vols.
Senior Maria Sorbello and freshman Millie Nichols recorded victories at No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively. Rosalía Alda also earned a win at No. 2 singles in a third-set match tiebreaker.
In doubles, Jennifer Meredith and Kata Szekely extended their winning streak to nine straight at the No. 3 doubles slot. UT also recorded wins at the top two doubles slots.
With her win at No. 2 doubles, Alda becomes just the seventh player in school history to record 100 career doubles victories. Her .719 winning percentage is fourth-best in school history among players that have recorded more than 80 wins.
Tennessee is back in action on Sunday afternoon as it hosts No. 8 Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. ET at Barksdale Stadium. Hahn-Patrick knows that VU will present a challenge for her team.
"I think it is a great opportunity and it is going to be a challenge for us," Hahn-Patrick said. "I think they know what to expect and we always have a great rivalry with Vanderbilt."
Live scoring for Sunday's match will be available on UTLadyVols.com.
Fans are reminded to follow the Lady Vols on Twitter at www.twitter.com/UTLadyVols. Become a fan of Lady Vol tennis on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ladyvoltennis.
#21 Tennessee 6, Kentucky 1
Singles competition
1. #53 Natalie Pluskota (TENN) def. Megan Broderick (UK) 6-2, 6-4
2. #103 Rosalía Alda (TENN) def. Jessica Stiles (UK) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4)
3. #31 Brynn Boren (TENN) def. Caitlin McGraw (UK) 6-4, 6-2
4. Khristina Blajkevitc (UK) def. Kata Szekely (TENN) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (12-10)
5. Maria Sorbello (TENN) def. Marni Venter (UK) 6-3, 6-0
6. Millie Nichols (TENN) def. CeCe Witten (UK) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #64 Natalie Pluskota/Millie Nichols (TENN) def. Megan Broderick/Khristina Blajkevitc (UK) 8-2
2. Maria Sorbello/Rosalía Alda (TENN) def. Caitlin McGraw/Marni Venter (UK) 8-5
3. Kata Szekely/Jennifer Meredith (TENN) def. Jessica Stiles/Misha Testerman (UK) 8-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,6,3,1,2,4)
Players Mentioned
