The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Middle Tennessee
Women's Tennis Defeats Middle Tennessee 4-3
3/10/2004 | Women's Tennis
March 10, 2004
OXFORD, Miss. - The 33rd-ranked Ole Miss women's tennis team built a 3-1 lead and held on for a 4-3 win over Middle Tennessee Wednesday afternoon at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center. The Lady Rebels improved to 8-5 on the season, while Middle Tennessee fell to 7-3.
Ole Miss had to dig out of an early hole after dropping the doubles point. The Lady Rebels won easily at No. 3 doubles, 8-1, but Middle Tennessee took the No. 2 spot, 8-1. At No. 1 doubles, Ole Miss' Chloe Carlotti and Virginia Tomatis found themselves down 5-2 to MT's Manon Kruse and Carien Venter. The Reb duo battled back, before losing 8-6 to give the Lady Raiders a 1-0 lead.
It didn't take long for the Lady Rebels to bounce back, as they claimed three singles victories quickly, to gain a 3-1 advantage. Senior Florencia Basile dominated Lady Raider Ana Maria Cibils, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 singles to improve to 11-2 in dual matches.
Virginia Tomatis made it 2-1 Ole Miss, when she finished off Venter, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 3 singles. Freshman Emily Ladyman gave the Lady Rebels a 3-1 lead with her 6-1, 6-0 win over Lady Raider Jacqui Williams on court six.
Ole Miss, needing only one of the three remaining matches, had to fight hard to come away with the final point. Kruse, ranked No. 55 in the nation, defeated OM's Carlotti, 6-1, 6-2, at the top spot to give the Lady Raiders their first singles point and make it 3-2 Ole Miss.
Courts four and two would go into third sets to decide the final outcome. Lady Rebel Sabrina Peppl rallied to win the second set against Laura McNamara 6-4, after dropping the first set 7-6. Peppl broke at 3-2 in the third and held on to win 6-2 and clinch the victory for Ole Miss. With the win, Peppl snapped a seven-match losing streak.
Court three took three sets to decide . Klaschka broke Lady Rebel Karem Harboe in the 12th game of the first set to win it 7-5, but Harboe rebounded to take the second set 6-2. Harboe broke in the first game of the final set, but Klaschka broke back immediately and eventually claimed the set in a tiebreaker, 7-6(7), for the final point of the day.
"We survived a tough match," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We definitely didn't play our best tennis, especially early on. We took care of business at three, five and six, and gained the momentum back after losing the doubles. We were in a position where we only needed to win one out of two at the end, and I am proud of Sabrina. She did a great job of coming back after losing the first set, to win her match and clinch the team victory."
The Lady Rebels will return to action Sunday against the University of New Orleans at Noon.
#33 Ole Miss 4
Middle Tennessee 3
DOUBLES
#1 Kruse/Venter (MT) def. Carlotti/Tomatis (OM) 8-6
#2 McNamara/Klaschka (MT) def. Peppl/Ladyman (OM) 8-1
#3 Harboe/Basile (OM) def. Emily Vest/Cibils (MT) 8-1
SINGLES
#1 Manon Kruse (MT) def. Chloe Carlotti (OM) 6-1, 6-2
#2 Jennifer Klaschka (MT) def. Karem Harboe (OM) 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(7)
#3 Virginia Tomatis (OM) def. Carien Venter (MT) 6-2, 6-1
#4 Sabrina Peppl (OM) def. Laura McNamara (MT) 6-7, 6-4, 6-2
#5 Florencia Basile (OM) def. Ana Maria Cibils (MT) 6-0, 6-0
#6 Emily Ladyman (OM) Jacqui Williams (MT) 6-1, 6-0
