Tiger rally falls short at Mississippi State

Box Score

STARKVILLE, Miss. – In its final contest of a nine-match road swing, the Memphis women's tennis team fought to the end in a setback at Mississippi State Saturday afternoon.

Falling behind 3-0, a loud Tiger rally fell short as the Bulldogs claimed a 5-2 win. The Tigers (6-5) will face a quick turnaround as they return home to host Stephen F. Austin at the Racquet Club of Memphis Sunday morning.

"It was a great college tennis match and I am proud of our effort," head coach Hayden Perez said. "This team showed a lot of heart after losing five out of six first sets, and then in four matches we fought back to win the second set. We got better today and competed hard. That is all I can ask of them. Mississippi State played well, congrats to them today."

Mississippi State (8-2) took command early with wins for the doubles point at the top two spots.

In singles, Memphis couldn't quite find its rhythm to start as the Bulldogs claimed the first set on five of the six courts. The Tigers rallied in the second sets, however, and forced a deciding third set on courts 3, 5 and 6.

Mississippi State took courts 2 and 4 in straight-set fashion to extend its lead to 3-0 before the Tigers provided their rally.

Sophomore Katherine Cao fought back to win a second-set tiebreak before her opponent retired, putting Memphis on the board. At the No. 6 spot, Claire Sullivan stormed back to win set two and tie the third set 4-4, but the Bulldogs scored a pair of games late to seal the win.

At the top spot, Anki Wind rallied in the third set and held serve for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Wind improved her singles record to 9-1 and extended her singles streak to seven matches.

Freshman Laura Bente, who trailed in the second set after dropping the first frame, found a groove and forced a third set on court 3, before Mississippi State won the No. 3 position and set the 5-2 final score.

First serve for the Tigers' match against the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks is slated for 9 a.m., and admission is free to the public.

RESULTS

Singles
1. Wind (MEM) def. Braun (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
2. Harrison (MSU) def. Sohn (MEM) 7-6(4), 6-4
3. No. 112 Adaloglou (MSU) def. Bente (MEM) 6-0, 5-7, 6-4
4. Rentouli (MSU) def. Reayer (MEM) 6-1, 6-3
5. Lizariturry (MSU) def. Sullivan (MEM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. Cao (MEM) def. Vozniak (MSU) 1-6, 7-6(5), ret.

Doubles
1. Harrison/ Vozniak (MSU) def. Reayer/Wind (MEM) 6-1
2. Adaloglou/Janina Braun (MSU) def. K. Cao/Sohn (MEM) 6-1
3. J. Cao/ Sullivan (MEM) vs. Lizariturry/ Rentouli (MSU) 4-2 (susp.)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katherine Cao

Anki Wind

University of Memphis Athletics