Tigers fall short of upset

Box Score

OXFORD, Miss. – A hot start was not enough to finish an upset as the Memphis women's tennis team dropped a 4-2 decision at No. 15 Ole Miss Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers (3-2) claimed a 2-0 match lead before an Ole Miss (4-0) charge established a Rebel lead and ensuing win.

The Rebels took court 1 to start doubles play before Memphis rallied with a 6-3 ranked win at the No. 2 position. Tiger duo Claire Sullivan and Josephine Cao clinched the doubles point and gave the Tigers an early lead with a 7-5 win against Ole Miss's No. 58 duo.

In singles play, Laura Bente picked up the momentum and was the first off the court. The freshman notched her first ranked singles win of her career, defeating No. 81 Natalie Suk 6-1, 6-2 and gave Memphis a 2-0 lead.

The Rebels answered, however with wins at the Nos. 6, 4 and 5 positions to take a 3-2 match lead. Ole Miss completed the comeback with a victory on court 1 to set the 4-2 final.

Memphis returns to action as the Tigers travel for a league showdown against Cincinnati Thursday.

RESULTS

Singles
1. Hartono (OM) def. Sohn (MEM) 6-4, 7-5
2. Bente (MEM) def. #81 Suk (OM) 6-1, 6-2
3. #62 Machalova (OM) vs. Wind (MEM) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), unfinished
4. # 95 Jandric (OM) def. Sullivan (MEM) 6-0, 6-3
5. Bortles (OM) def. K. Cao (MEM) 6-3, 6-2
6. Vrbenska (OM) def. J. Cao (MEM) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. #13 Hartono/Bortles (OM) def. Bente/Wind (MEM) 6-3
2. Sohn/K. Cao (MEM) def. #22 Suk/Machalova (OM) 6-3
3. Sullivan/J. Cao (MEM) def. #58 Jandric/Vrbenska (OM) 7-5

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Players Mentioned

Josephine Cao

University of Memphis Athletics