The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Troy
Lowther Clinches UAB's 4-3 Comeback Win Over Troy
2/17/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 17, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- With her team down 3-0, UAB freshman women’s tennis player Amy Lowther capped off the Blazers’4-3 come-from-behind victory with a thrilling win at the fourth singles position on Sunday.
UAB, which is now 5-1 overall on the season, found itself in an early hole as Troy (4-3) took the doubles point before claiming consecutive singles wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 courts, only to see the Blazers battle back for the win.
“Our team showed a lot of fight and heart when their backs were against the wall,” UAB head coach Lisa Jackson said. “Troy fought hard today, and we had to fight and compete at a high level to pick up the win.”
The Blazer duo of Menanteau Moolman and Rachel Daniell had the team’s only win in doubles with an 8-1 triumph over the Trojan tandem of Karoline Grymel and Lyubov Dorofeeva at the first position.
Troy then took an 8-3 victory at court No.2 and an 8-5 win at the third spot to claim a 1-0 lead in the match.
As the two teams went to singles, the Trojans once again flexed their muscles with two-straight victories. Rosaura Ramirez-Vega claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win over Blazer Elaine Simon at the fifth spot, before UAB’s Moolman fell, 7-5, 6-2, at the third position to put the Green and Gold down 3-0.
Needing just one win to take the match, Troy stumbled as the Blazers clawed their way back into the contest.
Rachel Daniell started UAB’s rally with an impressive straight-set 6-2, 6-4 victory over Troy’s Dorofeeva at court No. 2, before Sarah Witkowski hung on in a tie-breaker second set for a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Trojan Samya El Hsissen at the sixth spot.
With Troy’s lead shaved down to 3-2, the match came down to the first and fourth courts and UAB senior Isabel Fernandez and freshman Amy Lowther.
Fernandez fell in the first set 2-6 but then evened things up with a 6-4 victory in the second. Meanwhile, Lowther took a first set win, setting up a thrilling finish.
It was Fernandez who tied the match at 3-3 when she fought off Grymel for a 7-5 third-set win in a 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
With the match tied at 3-3, all eyes turned to the UAB freshman at court No. 4, who was caught in a back and forth second set. Lowther delivered for the Blazers, winning the tie-breaker, 8-6, in a 6-4, 7-6 (6) win to clinch UAB’s 4-3 comeback.
“Isabel (Fernandez) and Amy (Lowther) both did a great job of fighting back,” added Jackson. “For Amy to pick up a win and to clinch the match is something special for her and something she will remember throughout her career.”
With the win, UAB now faces Samford on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. CT in a match that will be played on the Bulldogs’ campus.
Tennis Match Results
Troy vs. UAB
Feb. 17, 2013 at Birmingham, Ala.
(George Ward Park)
UAB 4, Troy 3
Singles Results
1. Isabel Fernandez (UAB) def. Karoline Grymel (TROY) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
2. Rachel Daniell (UAB) def. Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) 6-2, 6-4
3. Anja Cosovic (TROY) def. Menanteau Moolman (UAB) 7-5, 6-2
4. Amy Lowther (UAB) def. Candela Munoz Giron (TROY) 6-4, 7-6
5. Rosaura Ramirez-Vega (TROY) def. Elaine Simon (UAB) 6-2, 6-1
6. Sarah Witkowski (UAB) def. Samya El Hsissen (TROY) 6-2, 7-6
Doubles Results
1. Menanteau Moolman/Rachel Daniell (UAB) def. Karoline Grymel/Lyubov Dorofeeva (TROY) 8-1
2. Rosaura Ramirez-Vega/Olivia Brooke Durden (TROY) def. Amy Lowther/Sarah Witkowski (UAB) 8-3
3. Anja Cosovic/Candela Munoz Giron (TROY) def. Isabel Fernandez/Elaine Simon (UAB) 8-5
Match Notes:
Troy 4-4
UAB 5-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,2,6,1,4)
T-5:20 A-52
Players Mentioned
