April 21, 2012

Box Score

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championship semifinals, Memphis suffered a heartbreaking loss to Tulsa, 4-3. The Tigers finish the season 16-5 (2-1 C-USA), while Tulsa advances to Sunday's championship match against Rice.

Memphis opened the match with dominant wins at No. 3 and No. 2 doubles. Courtney Collins and Kelly Gray surrendered only one game in their victory over Michelle Farley and Maria Sant'Anna, finishing their 8-1 victory just seconds ahead of the Tigers' win on court two.

Maria Slupska and Stefania Mikesz were commanding from the onset, giving the U of M the doubles point with an 8-0 victory. Tiffany Welcher and Alyssa Hibberd, the 51st-ranked duo, trailed a pair of breaks early in the No. 1 singles match. The tandem was able to get one of the breaks back and trailed, 3-5, when Memphis claimed the doubles point.

Tulsa rebounded in singles, with No. 70 Samantha Vickers defeating Tiffany Welcher, 6-2, 6-2, on court two. The Golden Hurricane staked a 2-1 lead following Michelle Farley's win, 6-3, 6-3, over Alyssa Hibberd in the No. 5 singles match.

Mariya Slupska, ranked No. 90, evened the match at two-all with a victory on court three. Slupska won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4, against Ewa Szatkowska.

With only three singles matches left on court, the energy level picked up at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center. Courtney Collins trailed a set and found herself down, 5-2, in the second, but the junior netter fought back to force a tie-break. Collins comeback attempt against Anastasia Erofeeva fell short in the tie-break, giving Tulsa a 3-2 lead in the match.

On court four, Stefanie Mikesz dropped the first set, 1-6, before finding her footing to win the second set, 6-3. Mikesz and Isaura Enrique battled in the third set with a sizable crowd cheering for the Blue and Gray. After Enrique tied the score at 5-5, Mikesz took control to win the last two games. The sophomore from Bardowick, Germany provided the Tigers with its third point in the match and put all eyes on court six.

Kelly Gray lost the first set, 7-6 (9-7), after leading 5-2 in the tie-break. Gray, who claimed the deciding point in yesterday's win over Marshall, rebounded to take the second set, 7-5. The junior from Murfreesboro, Tenn., couldn't sustain the momentum in the third set and fell, 6-1.

Memphis concludes a season in which it posted its highest winning-percentage, .762, in the history of the program. The Tigers previous high came in 2003, when they went 17-7 with a .708 winning percentage.

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#1 Tulsa 4, #4 Memphis 3
Singles
1. #71 Anastasia Erofeeva (TLS) def. #33 Courtney Collins (MEM) 6-2, 7-6 (0)
2. #70 Samantha Vickers (TLS) def. Tiffany Welcher (MEM) 6-2, 6-2
3. #90 Mariya Slupska (MEM) def. Ewa Szatkowska (TLS) 7-5, 6-4
4. #81 Stefanie Mikesz (MEM)def. Isaura Enrique (TLS) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
5. Michelle Farley (TLS) def. Alyssa Hibberd (MEM) 6-3, 6-3
6. Bonny Davidson (TLS) def. Kelly Gray (MEM) 7-6 (9-7), 5-7, 6-1

Doubles
1. #71 Szatkowska/Erofeeva (TLS) vs. #51 Welcher/Hibberd (MEM) 5-3
2. Slupska/Mikesz def. Vickers/Davidson (TLS) 8-0
3. Collins/Gray (MEM) def. Farley/Sant'Anna (TLS) 8-1

Match Notes
Memphis 16-4; National Ranking #64
Tulsa 20-3 National Ranking #26
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (2,5,3,1,4,6)
2012 Conference USA Women's Tennis Semifinals