Tennis Drops 4-2 Decision to Nevada

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee won the doubles point but senior Hala Sufi managed the only victory in singles, as the Blue Raiders fell, 4-2, to 62nd-ranked Nevada Sunday in Reno, Nev.

The loss ended a three-match winning streak for Middle Tennessee (7-12), who not must regroup before next week's Sun Belt Championships.

The Blue Raiders jumped out to a quick start with victories at the top two positions in doubles.

Ann-Kristin Siljestrom and Stephanie Parkison defeated Ly-Huong Dinh and Bach-Lan Pham, 8-6, at No. 2, but Nevada's Fiorella Velez and Alice Hall squared the doubles with an 8-4 triumph at No. 3 over Pooja Kommireddi and Marlene Chemin.

Sufi and Szabo then clinched the first point of the match with an 8-5 victory over 48th-ranked Caroline Bailly and Maria Mizyuk at No. 1.

The Wolfpack won the first four completed singles matches, all in straight sets, while Sufi won her match in three sets and Szabo was up a set and on serve in her match when it was stopped.

Mizyuk defeated Siljestrom, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 2 before Dinh won 6-2, 6-2, over Chemin at No. 3. Velez posted a 7-5, 6-3, triumph against Kommireddi at No. 5 and Pham won 6-3, 6-3, over Parkison at No. 6.

Sufi, ranked 104th nationally, defeated Bailly, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, at No. 1, and Szabo was up at No. 4, 6-2, 4-5, against Hall.

"We did some good things in the match, pulling out the doubles point and Hala really batting and winning," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "But we ran up against a good team and we didn't play real well in singles. We have to put both phases together to be successful and we'll have to do that going into the conference tournament."

Middle Tennessee plays in the Sun Belt Championships, March 20-22, in Denton, Texas.

#62 Nevada 4, Middle Tennessee 2
SINGLES
1. (104) Hala Sufi (MT) def. Caroline Bailly (NEV), 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2. Maria Mizyuk (NEV) def. Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT), 6-1, 6-1
3. Ly-Huong Dinh (NEV) def. Marlene Chemin (MT), 6-2, 6-2
4. Alice Hall (NEV) def. Claudia Szabo (MT), 2-6, 5-4, DNF
5. Fiorella Velez (NEV) def. Pooja Kommireddi (MT), 7-5, 6-3
6. Bach-Lan Pham (NEV) def. Stephanie Parkison (MT), 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,3,5,6*,1

DOUBLES
1. Sufi-Szabo (MT) def. (48) Bailly-Mizyuk (NEV), 8-5
2. Siljestrom-Parkison def. Dinh-Pham (NEV), 8-6
3. Velez-Hall (NEV) def. Kommireddi-Chemin (MT), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1*

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