The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
UAB Falls To Nationally Ranked Memphis
4/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 6, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The UAB women's tennis team suffered a 7-0 loss Friday to No. 57 Memphis in a match played at the Southern Miss Tennis Courts.
It was the second time on the court Friday for the Blazers (6-9), which finished off a win over Southern Miss earlier in the morning in a match that was suspended by darkness the day before.
Against the Tigers (14-3), UAB faced a lineup that featured four players rated among the top 120 in the latest ITA singles rankings.
UAB's Rachel Daniell came the closest to knocking one of those players off, pushing No. 69 Stefanie Mikesz into a match tiebreaker for the third set at the No. 3 singles position. Daniell pushed Mikesz to the brink in the tiebreaker, too, before falling, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8.
The other ranked Tigers each won their matches in straight sets. No. 119 Tiffany Welcher defeated Paula Alvarez, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1 singles. No. 27 Courtney Collins downed Isabel Fernandez by the same 6-2, 6-3 score at the No. 2 position. And No. 74 Mariya Slupska topped Caroline Faught, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 4 spot.
UAB also suffered losses at the final two spots in the singles lineup. Menanteau Moolman lost to Alyssa Hibberd, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 5, while Sarah Witkowski lost a pair of tight sets in a 6-4, 6-4 decision against Kelly Gray at No. 6.
The six singles wins came after Memphis had also swept the doubles contests to claim the opening point of the match.
This week's action marked the first for UAB this season against Conference USA opponents with the Blazers splitting their matches against Southern Miss and Memphis.
UAB now returns to Birmingham for the final three contests of the regular season, starting Tuesday against Emory. That match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start at Brook Highland Racquet Club.
