MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. ? No. 18 Wake Forest handed the 62nd-ranked University of South Alabama women’s tennis team a 5-2 loss Saturday morning at the Minnesota Court Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Baseline Tennis Center.
On Sunday, USA (0-1) will take on either Minnesota or Western Michigan in the third-place match at 9 a.m., while the Demon Deacons (1-0) face the winner of Saturday’s other semifinal match in the tournament championship match schedule to start at 1 p.m.
The two clubs opened the match with doubles play. The Demon Deacons took a 1-0 match lead by capturing two of the three doubles matches. USA’s Michaela Babicova and Dijana Stanic managed to pick up an 8-5 victory at the No. 3 spot over Sasha Kulikova and Christine Simpson, but the Wake Forest’s doubles duos of Alex Hirsch/Sierra Poske (8-6) and Ashlee Davis/Christian Tara (9-7) captured up wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions, respectively, to give the Demon Deacons the one point match lead.
In singles play, Wake Forest sealed the match victory with straight set wins at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots. The Jaguar women were able to pull off two upsets in the singles competition. USA’s Adrianna Solarova defeated Hirsch, ranked 29th nationally by the ITA, with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Babicova pulled off the second upset for South Alabama when she outlasted Davis, ranked No. 79. The Jag sophomore split the first two sets 6-2, 5-7 with Davis and picked up a 10-6 win in the third and deciding set.
No. 18 Wake Forest 5 vs. No. 62 South Alabama 2
Minnesota Court Classic - Semifinal
Baseline Tennis Center - Minneapolis, Minn.
Singles
1. Adrianna Solarova (USA) def. No. 29 Alex Hirsch (WF), 6-2, 7-5
2. Michaela Babicova (USA) def. No. 79 Ashlee Davis (WF), 6-2, 5-7, (10-6)
3. No. 55 Christian Tara (WF) def. Jelena Krivacevic (USA), 6-3, 7-5
4. Sierra Poske (WF) def. Yana Bokareva (USA), 6-1, 6-1
5. Ana Jerman (WF) def. Rita Freitas (USA), 6-1, 6-0
6. Sasha Kulikova (WF) def. Dijana Stanic (USA), 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 4,5,6,1,3,2
Doubles
1. Hirsch/Poske (WF) def. Solarova/Sylvanie Spangenberg (USA), 8-6
2. Davis/Tara (WF) def. Freitas/Krivacevic (USA), 9-7
3. Babicova/Stanic (USA) def. Kulikova/Christine Simpson (WF), 8-5
