The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Tennessee (W)<br>SEC Tournament
Women's Tennis Loses Heartbreaker In SEC Semis
4/24/2010 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 2 seeded Ole Miss women's tennis team lost a heartbreaker, 4-3, to third-seeded Tennessee in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament here Saturday.
The match had to be moved indoors to the Lindsey Hopkins Center, and they elected to play singles first with four courts.
Tennessee, ranked No. 13, won the first four sets to gain the early momentum. They would take a 2-0 lead with wins on courts two and three. Karen Nijssen fell to 54th-ranked Maria Sorbello 6-2, 6-0 at No. 2, and then Friday's match-clincher, Connor Vogel, dropped a 6-3, 7-6(2) decision to Rosalia Alda at No. 3.
The 17th-ranked Rebels answered in two of the first four matches where they lost the first set. Abby Guthrie came back to defeat Zsofia Zubor 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4 and then Kristi Boxx, ranked No. 62, posted her biggest win this year in SEC competition, upsetting 9th-ranked Caitlin Whoriskey 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 singles to even the match.
The Lady Vols took a 3-2 lead when Jennifer Meredith won a third-set tiebreaker against Laura van de Stroet. Van de Stroet won the first set 6-3, but Meredith would rally to take the second set 6-3. The two battled back and forth in the third set until van de Stroet gained a break at 5-5. Meredith broke right back and then won the tiebreaker, 7-4.
Sophomore Gabby Rangel finished off UT's Katie Lee 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to square the match and force doubles.
When the two teams played outdoors earlier this year, Ole Miss won the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and lost at 1. This time it was reversed. Tennessee won 8-2 at No. 2, with 24th-ranked Zubor and Alda beating Vogel and Rangel 8-2. Boxx and Nijssen, ranked No. 12 in the nation, downed 11th-ranked Whoriskey and Sorbello 8-3 at No. 1. Tennessee clinched the win as Natalie Pluskota and Meredith defeated Guthrie and van de Stroet 8-3 at No. 3. Pluskota did not play the first time the two teams met this year.
"Pluskota made a huge difference in doubles for them. They played better in doubles than we did, except we played unbelievable at No. 1," head coach Mark Beyers said. "We got off to a slow start again, but we were able to turn some matches around. Connor was up in the second and then lost in the breaker. Abby did a great job coming back to win her match. We are proud of the girls, they gave a great effort. We just came up short."
The Rebels will now wait to find out if they will be one of 16 hosts of an NCAA Regional. The 64-team bracket and host sites will be revealed Tuesday, May 4 on ESPNews.
#3 Tennessee 4
#2 Ole Miss 3
DOUBLES
1. Boxx/Nijssen (OM) def. Whoriskey/Sorbello (UT) 8-3
2. Zubor/Alda (UT) def. Vogel/Rangel (OM) 8-2
3. Pluskota/Meredith (UT) def. Guthrie/van de Stroet (OM) 8-3
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SINGLES
1. Kristi Boxx (OM) def. Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
2. Maria Sorbello (UT) def. Karen Nijssen (OM) 6-2, 6-0
3. Rosalia Alda (UT) def. Connor Vogel (OM) 6-3, 7-6(2)
4. Abby Guthrie (OM) def. Zsofia Zubor (UT) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
5. Jennifer Meredith (UT) def. Laura van de Stroet (OM) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4)
6. Gabby Rangel (OM) def. Katie Lee (UT) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4, 1, 5, 6
