The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
UNLV
Women's Tennis Guts Out 4-3 Win Over UNLV
3/16/2011 | Women's Tennis
March 16, 2011
LAS VEGAS - The Ole Miss women's tennis team, dealing with injuries to key players, gutted out a 4-3 win over 38th-ranked UNLV here Tuesday at the Fertitta Tennis Center.
Senior Laura van de Stroet, one of the two players dealing with an injury, toughed it out to win a third set tiebreaker and clinch the victory for the visiting Rebels, now 7-5 overall. The home Rebels are coached by former Ole Miss assistant coach Kevin Cory.
With the match all square, all eyes turned to the only three-setter of the day between van de Stroet, an All-SEC honoree in 2010, and UNLV's Nives Pavlovic. van de Stroet rallied to win the match 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-6(4) and start the spring break trip on a good note for the Rebels.
"It was good to get this win," head coach Mark Beyers said. "It was a rollercoaster match. We lost the doubles point and then led 3-1. But they were winning the remaining matches. The wind was ridiculous towards the end of the match, gusting up to 25mph. Laura was actually up 5-3 in the third and had a match point. Somehow she was able to hang on and win, and we are proud of her for stepping up. Hopefully we can get another win tomorrow."
After falling behind 1-0 by dropping the doubles point, Ole Miss battled back in singles without junior All-American Kristi Boxx in the lineup.
Three straight set victories by Connor Vogel at one, Abby Guthrie at four and Vivian Vlaar at five set up van de Stroet's heroic effort.
Vogel knocked off 89th-ranked Lucia Batta 6-1, 6-3 for her 22nd win of the year, and is now 4-1 at No. 1 singles. Guthrie downed Adrienn Hidvegi 6-3, 6-2 on court four and then Vlaar got back on the winning side with a 6-1, 6-4 win against Jana Albers at five. Vlaar is now 10-2 in dual matches as a freshman.
UNLV evened the match with straight set wins on courts six and two, setting up the final outcome at three.
Unfortunately, there is no rest for the weary, as Ole Miss will be right back on the same courts Thursday at 2 p.m. CT., taking on 32nd-ranked Arizona.
DOUBLES
1. Boxx/Guthrie (OM) def. Josifoska/Pavlovic (UNLV) 8-5
2. Batta/Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Vogel/Rangel (OM) 8-5
3. Albers/Hidvegi (UNLV) def. Rohde-Moe/Vlaar (OM) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
1. Connor Vogel (OM) def. Lucia Batta (UNLV) 6-1, 6-3
2. Aleksandra Josifoska (UNLV) def. Caroline Rohde-Moe (OM) 6-2, 6-3
3. Laura van de Stroet (OM) def. Nives Pavlovic (UNLV) 6-7, 6-2, 7-6
4. Abby Guthrie (OM) def. Adrienn Hidvegi (UNLV) 6-3, 6-2
5. Vivian Vlaar (OM) def. Jana Albers (UNLV) 6-1, 6-4
6. Anna Maskaljun (UNLV) def. Gabby Rangel (OM) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 1, 6, 2, 3
