CLARKSVILLE - Austin Peay State University
women's tennis team dropped its home opener, 7-0, to Memphis, Friday afternoon
at the Governors Indoor Tennis Center.
It was the second consecutive match in which
head coach Malik Tabet pitted his young team against an experienced, highly-regarded
opponent and Tabet remains adamant that results are not indicative of how the
Lady Govs performed.
"Memphis and Vanderbilt are two of the best
programs in the country," Tabet said. "Once we get deeper in the season, those
two teams will rise to the top. It was a good experience for our team and I
believe it will give us some confidence. We played very well."
The doubles competition was a roller coaster
as the Lady Govs No. 1 tandem of senior Vanja Tomic and freshman Alison Carre
drew out several match points in falling 8-7. Memphis' top team of Alyssa
Hibberd and Tiffany Welcher entered the match ranked 41st nationally
by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
In fact, Memphis' top three singles players
are each individually ranked by the ITA, providing a challenging matches across
the board. Tomic took No. 60 Courtney Collins into a super tiebreaker at No. 1
singles, while Carre - at No. 2 singles - fell for the second time this season
to a ranked opponent - No. 51 Stefanie Mikesz.
Freshmen Ornella Di Salvo, Weronika Kurka and
Vanessa Tavarez, along with sophomore Andra Cornea filled out the bottom of the lineup.
"To have three players nationally ranked
tells you the prestige of this program right now," Tabet said of the Tigers. "Vanja
played really well at No. 1 and also in doubles. Just the fact that they had a
chance to win the doubles gives Vanja and Alison a huge boost.
"Right now, we just need to play more
matches. Once we start to get more matches in, the team will develop nicely. We've
got the pieces, we've just got to figure out how to put them together.
Memphis 7, Austin Peay 0
Singles competition
1. Courtney Collins (MEM) def. TOMIC, Vanja
(APSUW) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. Stefanie Mikesz (MEM) def. CARRE, Alison
(APSUW) 6-3, 6-4
3. Mariya Slupska (MEM) def. Di SALVO,
Ornella (APSUW) 6-0, 6-1
4. Tiffany Welcher (MEM) def. KURKA, Weronika
(APSUW) 6-0, 6-2
5. Alyssa Hibberd (MEM) def. TAVAREZ, Vanessa
(APSUW) 6-1, 6-0
6. Kelly Gray (MEM) def. CORNEA, Andra
(APSUW) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Alyssa Hibberd/Tiffany Welcher (MEM) def.
TOMIC, Vanja/CARRE, Alison (APSUW) 8-7
2. Mariya Slupska/Stefanie Mikesz (MEM) def.
KURKA, Weronika/Di SALVO, Ornella (APSUW) 8-0
3. Kelly Gray/Courtney Collins (MEM) def.
CORNEA, Andra/TAVAREZ, Vanessa (APSUW) 8-0
Match Notes:-AP-
