ResultsMOBILE, Ala. – The No. 41 University of South Alabama women's tennis team rallied to win the doubles point against Virginia Commonwealth on Thursday, using that momentum to capture a 6-0 victory over the Rams at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
The Jaguars improved to 12-4 with their 11th win in the last 12 outings, while VCU dropped to 4-8.
"That was probably one of the tougher doubles points we've had this year," said USA head coach
Jaco Keyser. "We were able to absorb and work through it. I think the doubles point meant a lot to them, and from there we played one of our better singles matches this year — top to bottom — and didn't let up."
Trailing 3-1 at No. 3, the duo of
Laura Matuskova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and
Alina Zolotareva (Barnaul, Russia) rallied for a 6-4 victory over
Magda Aubets and
Sofia Segerfors. The Jags went ahead 1-0 in the match when
Michael Meszarosova (Bratislava, Slovakia) and
Laura Valkova (Piestany, Slovakia) broke serve for a 6-4 win against the team of
Olga Barshcheuskaya and
Darya Berezhnaya on the No. 1 court.
Matuskova earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Segerfors at No. 6 singles to double the Jaguars' advantage, which grew to 3-0 when
Alexandria Stiteler (Bradenton, Fla.) — 47th in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings — defeated
Anna Rasmmussen 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1.
Cinta Maria Papke (Flein, Germany) clinched the match for USA on the No. 5 court, besting Berezhnaya 6-2, 6-2.
Monica Mitta (Fairhope, Ala.) followed with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Aubets at No. 3, with the final point coming from Valkova, a 6-4, 3-6, (10-7) winner at No. 2 against Barshcheuskaya.
"It was a great balance today," Keyser said of USA's singles performance. "We played our points extremely well, and once or twice a game we went on offense. It wasn't too much offense, it wasn't too much defense, it was just an absolute perfect blend."
The Jaguars will next play host to North Florida on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CST).
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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