MOBILE, Ala. ? After having to postpone the match on Sunday due to rain, the University of South Alabama women’s tennis closed out its five-match home stand Monday morning and remained perfect with a 5-2 victory over Winthrop University at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
The Jaguar women remain undefeated on the spring and improve to 5-0 with the win. USA will now begin a two-match road swing when they take on Ole Miss (Feb. 22) and Mississippi State (Feb. 24). Winthrop drops to 1-6 on the season with the loss.
South Alabama took control of the match early, sweeping all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Jaguar teams of Adrianna Solarova/Sylvanie Spangenberg and Michaela Babicova/Katie Welch, ranked 28th in the nation, each recorded an 8-3 at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions, respectively. Jelena Krivacevic and Erica Krisan then completed the clean sweep with an 8-5 win at No. 3 over Winthrop’s Larisa Bekmetova and Yelena Fadina.
In singles play, Winthrop tied the match up when USA’s Welch had to retire at the No. 4 spot, but the Jags quickly regained the momentum and the lead at 3-1 when Babicova (6-1, 6-0) and Solarova (6-2, 6-2) earned wins at the Nos. 2 and 1 positions, respectively. The Eagles pulled to with in one when Bekmatova captured a three set win at No. 5, but that was as close as Winthrop got the rest of the way. Krivacevic and Krisan then clinched the match with a pair of three set wins at the Nos. 3 and 6 spots.
No. 57 University of South Alabama 5, Winthrop 2
02/18/08 at Mobile, Ala.
Singles competition
1. Adrianna Solarova (USA) def. Elizaveta Zaytseva (WU) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 44 Michaela Babicova (USA) def. Patricia Coimbra (WU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Erica Krisan (USA) def. Sara Abutovic (WU) 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
4. Lisa Wilkinson (WU) def. Katie Welch (USA) 2-0, retired
5. Larisa Bekmetova (WU) def. Sylvanie Spangenberg (USA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
6. Jelena Krivacevic (USA) def. Yelena Fadina (WU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Adrianna Solarova/Sylvanie Spangenberg (USA) def. Sara Abutovic/Elizaveta Zaytseva (WU) 8-3
2. No. 28 Michaela Babicova/Katie Welch (USA) def. Lisa Wilkinson/Patricia Coimbra (WU) 8-3
3. Jelena Krivacevic/Erica Krisan (USA) def. Yelena Fadina/Larisa Bekmetova (WU) 8-3
Match Notes:
Winthrop 1-6
University of South Alabama 5-0; National ranking No. 57
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,2,1,5,6,3)
Match was originally scheduled to be played Sunday (2/17) but was postponed due to rain.
