University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Murray State
Memphis Picks Up Two Home Victories on Friday
Mar 06, 2009 | Women's Tennis
March 6, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
For the first time in nearly four years the Memphis women's tennis squad had the opportunity to play home matches at the University of Memphis Tennis Courts. The Lady Tigers used a home court advantage that they haven't been able to take advantage of in recent seasons to help propel them past two foes on Friday, defeating Austin Peay, 7-0, and capping off the day with a hard-fought victory against the Murray State Racers, 5-2. Memphis' record now stands at 7-7 on the year. The Lady Tigers are two wins shy from matching their win output last season.
"I am really proud of the girls today, said Memphis head coach Lee Taylor Walker. "It is tough to play any match without two players but to go out there and play a double header and be out here from 8:30 to 6:30. That is just a long day. There was no complaining from the girls they just embraced the opportunity and went out and got the job done."
To begin the day, the Lady Tigers swept the doubles point, taking an early 1-0 lead over Austin Peay. At No. 1 singles, Marjorie Ondeck and Ashley Murdock teamed up for the first time since the Samford Invitational on Jan. 25, to defeat APSU's Yuki Nakamura and Mariana Pagan, 8-4. Ondeck and Murdock move to 2-3 during the spring in doubles play.
At No. 2 doubles, Amanda Brown and Sarah Irvin picked up a 8-5 win over the Lady Governor's duo of Demitria Georgiakopoulos and Michelle Liew. Brown and Irvin improved to 2-0 on the year. The twosome last paired up against Jacksonville State at the Samford Invitational.
At the No. 3 spot, Dara Toulch and Kristin Chamberlain dominated their Austin Peay opponents, taking down Brittany Hays and Alex Pyle, 8-0. Toulch and Chamberlain moved to 5-6 on the year with the victory.
In singles play, Murdock, a junior from Memphis, Tenn., picked up her 10th win of the season with a victory over Pagan from APSU, 6-3, 6-1.
At No. 2 singles, Ondeck, a junior from Monroe, Ct., triumphed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Liew. Ondeck improved to 7-9 on the season, with the victory.
At the No. 3 spot, Irvin, a freshman from Queensland, Australia, took down Nakamura in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-3. Irvin moved to 7-8 on the 2009 season.
At No. 4 singles, Brown defeated Georgakopolous, 6-2, 6-0. The Memphis junior from Whitby, Ontario, improved to 4-9 with Friday morning's win.
At the No. 5 slot, Toulch, a junior from Montreal, Quebec, picked up a 6-4, 6-0, win over Hays. Toulch improved to 5-6 on the season with a victory.
The No. 6 position went the way of Chamberlain, the lone senior from the U of M. Chamberlain downed Pyle, 6-2, 6-2.
In the second match of the day against the Murray State Racers, the Lady Tigers took the doubles point by winning two-of-three matches. At the No. 1 spot, Ondeck and Murdock evened their record at 3-3 by holding on for a victory over Angela McGahee and Anne Pennington. McGahee and Pennington had gone 3-0 in doubles prior to today's match-up against the Lady Tigers.
Memphis secured the win with a victory at the No. 3 doubles position. Toulch and Chamberlain upended Lynsey Bochenek and Katelyn Fulcher, 8-4. Toulch and Chamberlain improved to 6-6 on the season. Bochenek and Fulcher fall to 0-1 on the year.
The Murray State Racers came away with a victory at the No. 2 slot, after the fate of the doubles point had already been decided. Adriana Alvarez and Lyndsay Ottosen defeated Brown and Irvin, 8-4. Brown and Irvin's record fell to 2-1 on the season. In singles, the Lady Tigers extended their lead to 2-0 with at the No. 1 position. Murdock, an All-C-USA selection a year ago for the U of M, upended Cassidy Cunitz, 6-1, 6-4. She improves to 11-6 on the season. Cunitz has posted a 4-1 mark for the Racers this season.
Murray State closed on the Lady Tiger lead by picking up a victory at the No. 6 position. Bochenek defeated Chamberlain, 6-2, 6-2. The Murray State netter improves to 1-1 on the year. Chamberlain's 2009 spring record drops to 0-4.
Memphis improved their lead to 3-1 with a victory from Irvin at the No. 3 position. The freshman upended Pennington, 6-2, 6-1. Irvin's record now stands at 8-8 in her first season for the Blue and Gray. Pennington falls to 3-3 in singles on the year. The Lady Tigers clinched the victory with a clutch win from Toulch at the No. 4 position. Her opponent, Alvarez, battled back from a 5-2 deficit to tie things up a 5-5. Toulch staved off her opposition and took the next two games to take the set and the match, 7-5, 7-5. The junior improves to 6-6 on the year. Alvarez is 2-3 in singles this season.
At No. 5 singles, the Murray State Racers picked up their second singles win of the day from Alexis Webb. Webb defeated Brown, 7-6, 7-5. Brown's record falls to 4-10. Webb has produced a record of 4-2 on the season.
The Lady Tigers solidified a strong day with a gritty performance from Ondeck at the No. 2 singles spot. The junior fought back after losing her first set to McGahee, 6-2, to win the second set, 6-2, and force a third set. In the third set, Ondeck faced a deficit of 5-2 before coming back to win the next five games in order to take the set, 7-5. Ondeck improves to 8-9 in singles this season. McGahee is 2-0 in singles so far this season.
"Today was another big step forward for the Memphis Lady Tigers tennis program", said Memphis volunteer assistant coach Andy Beckman.
Memphis will take on the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks at 11 a.m., at the University of Memphis Tennis Courts on Sat., March 7.
Players Mentioned
