MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee was up in two singles matches but dropped the doubles point and three singles outings in straight sets, as 53rd-ranked South Alabama defeated the Blue Raiders, 4-0, Friday in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships in Denton, Texas.
The Blue Raiders (8-13) lost to the Lady Jaguars for the second time this season. The match was the second of the day for Middle Tennessee, who defeated Western Kentucky earlier in the day.
USA picked up the first point of the match with victories at Nos. 2 and 3 in doubles.
Michaela Babicova and Dijana Stanic defeated Marlene Chemin and Pooja Kommireddi, 8-1, at No. 3 before Jelena Krivacevic and Rita Freitas won 8-4 over Ann-Kristin Siljestrom and Stephanie Parkison.
The Lady Jaguars won the three completed singles matches, though the Blue Raiders led in two other matches.
Freitas won 6-0, 6-0, over Parkison at No. 6 before Krivacevic defeated Chemin, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 3. Babicova posted the final point with a 6-2, 6-2, victory against Siljestrom at No. 2.
Middle Tennessee's Hala Sufi, ranked 97th nationally in singles, led 55th-ranked Adrianna Solarova, 6-3, 4-3, and Elvira Yusupova was ahead of Yana Bokareva, 7-6, while USA's Stanic led Claudia Szabo, 6-2, 4-1, at No. 4.
"We protested [South Alabama's] lineup and won the protest, but then they just whipped out butts in the doubles," head coach Alison Ojeda said. "And then in singles we got off to a slow start and you can't do that against a good team. [South Alabama] played well and was the better team."
The Blue Raiders won four of their last six matches to end the season and return all but one player next season.
#53 South Alabama 4, Middle Tennessee 0
SINGLES
1. (55) Adrianna Solarova (USA) vs. (97) Hala Sufi (MT), 3-6, 3-5, DNF
2. Michaela Babicova (USA) def. Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT), 6-2, 6-2
3. Jelena Krivacevic (USA) def. Marlene Chemin (MT), 6-1, 6-3
4. Dijana Stanic (USA) vs. Claudia Szabo (MT), 6-1, 4-1, DNF
5. Yana Bokareva (USA) vs. Elvira Yusupova (MT), 6-7, DNF
6. Rita Freitas (USA) def. Stephanie Parkison (MT), 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 6,3,2*
DOUBLES
1. Solarova-Spangenberg (USA) vs. Sufi-Szabo (MT), 7-5, DNF
2. Krivacevic-Freitas (USA) def. Siljestrom-Parkison (MT), 8-4
3. Babicova-Stanic (USA) def. Chemin-Pooja Kommireddi (MT), 8-1
Order of Finish: 3,2*
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