University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
Cincinnati
Lady Tigers Roar to Pair of Wins on Friday
Feb 06, 2015 | Women's Tennis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The University of Memphis women’s tennis team picked up a pair of victories on Friday afternoon, knocking off conference-foe Cincinnati and regional-rival Murray State at the Eldon Roark Tennis Center and University Club in Memphis. The victories push the Tigers to 4-2 on the young season and 1-0 in American Athletic Conference action while boosting the home winning-streak to 42 matches. The Bearcats fall to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in AAC play while the Racers drop to 4-2.
“I’m happy to get through the day relatively healthy,” first-year head coach Hayden Perez said. “Tara (McElroy) suffered a minor injury and Alyssa (Hibberd) was a little under the weather, but they both gave a great effort. Our doubles was a lot better overall today. We’re looking forward to a good start on Sunday.”
The Tigers went 4-0 on the day in doubles and 9-3 in singles play as Liza Tymchenko, Marta Morga and Alyssa Hibberd all went 2-0 in singles.
In the day’s opening match against the Bearcats, the Lady Tigers rode the momentum from winning the doubles point to first-set singles victories on all six courts. The duo of Anki Wind and Hibberd secured the first point for the Blue and Gray by downing Lauren Bellinger and Kelly Poggensee-Wei, 6-4, at the No. 1 doubles line after the tandem of Kathryn Hughes and Tara McElroy defeated Natalia Abdalla and Hannah Wille, 6-1, at No. 3.
Despite the early 1-0 hole and falling behind on all six singles courts, Cincinnati pieced together a rally in the second set, winning three of five frames to tighten the match. Tymchenko, a senior, put away her match early in the second set against Bure, 6-4, 6-0, at the No. 2 line to put Memphis on top 2-0 and Morga cruised to a three-set victory over Bellinger, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, at the No. 3 position to give the Lady Tigers a 3-0 advantage. The Bearcats narrowed the deficit to within a match after Wind fell to Poggensee-Wei at the No. 1 spot in three-set, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Hughes suffered a setback to Miller, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, at the No. 4 line. Hibberd, a senior, put the Tigers on top for good with her easy win over Wille, 6-1, 6-0, at the No. 5 line and McElroy added a final victory over Abdalla in a shortened set, 8-5, at No. 6.
“Cincinnati was salty,” Perez said following the match with the Bearcats. “They definitely brought a little bit more than I was expecting, but the girls responded. Our two losses were both tight in the third. We’re excited about that. I don’t think either kid did anything wrong, it was just a point here or a point there.”
After a brief intermission and a change of venues, the Lady Tigers roared out to a commanding 5-0 lead against Murray State. In doubles, the No. 1 and No. 3 pairs of Wind/Hibberd and Hughes/McElroy again picked up victories for Memphis to secure the early edge. In singles, Wind routed 124th-ranked Andrea Eskauriatza, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 1 line to put the Tigers on top 2-0. Morga, a sophomore, went on to defeat Megan Blue, 6-1, 6-1, before Hughes pulled the upset of 106th-ranked Nancy Karkay, 6-4, 6-0, to secure the overall win for Memphis. Tymchenko and Hibberd capped off the evening with a pair of bookend victories over Eleonore Tchakarova and Alena Vasileva, respectively. McElroy suffered a minor setback due to an injury that forced her to retire from the match.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Sunday with a pair of matches against UCF and Lipscomb at the Eldon Roark Tennis Center and University Club at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Visit GoTigersGo.com and follow @UofMTennis on Twitter for all the latest news on Memphis athletics.
No. 58 Memphis 5, Cincinnati 2
Eldon Roark Tennis Center
Memphis, Tenn.
Doubles
No. 1 – Anki Wind/Alyssa Hibberd (Memphis) def. Lauren Bellinger/Kelly Poggensee-Wei (UC) 6-4
No. 2 – Liza Tymchenko/Marta Morga (Memphis) vs. Katya Bure/Ali Miller (UC) 4-3 unfinished
No. 3 – Kathryn Hughes/Tara McElroy (Memphis) def. Natalia Abdalla/Hannah Wille (UC) 6-1
Singles
No. 1 – Kelly Poggensee-Wei (UC) def. Anki Wind (Memphis) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 – Marta Morga (Memphis) def. Lauren Bellinger (UC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
No. 4 – Ali Miller (UC) def. Kathryn Hughes (Memphis) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 – Alyssa Hibberd (Memphis) def. Hannah Wille (UC) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 –Tara McElroy (Memphis) def. Natalia Abdalla (UC) 8-5
Order of finish:
Doubles – 3, 1
Singles – 2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 6
No. 58 Memphis 6, Murray State 1
The University Club
Memphis, Tenn.
Doubles
No. 1 – Anki Wind/Alyssa Hibberd (Memphis) def. Andrea Eskauriatza/Erin Patton (MSU) 6-0
No. 2 – Liza Tymchenko/Marta Morga (Memphis) vs. Eleonoroe Tchakarova/Vergine Tchakarova (MSU) 3-4 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Kathryn Hughes/Tara McElroy (Memphis) vs. Megan Blue/Nancy Karkay (MSU) 6-3
Singles
No. 1 – Anki Wind (Memphis) def. No. 124 Andrea Eskauriatza (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 – Liza Tymchenko (Memphis) def. Elaonoroe Tchakarova (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 – Marta Morga (Memphis) def. Megan Blue (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Kathryn Hughes (Memphis) def. No. 106 Nancy Karkay (MSU) 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 – Alyssa Hibberd (Memphis) def. Alena Vasileva (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Vergine Tchakarova (MSU) def. Tara McElroy (Memphis) 6-2, 3-0 ret.
Order of finish:
Doubles – 1, 3
Singles – 1, 3, 4, 2, 6, 5
Players Mentioned
