MONROE, La. - After waiting six hours to begin their conference tournament the Middle Tennessee women's tennis team took a 4-3 win over Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday afternoon.
With the match tied at 3 all, junior Pooja Kommireddi won her match in the third set 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch the match for the Blue Raiders.
"Pooja has really been playing well the last six weeks. The third set really came down to who wanted it the most and she played great today," Ojeda said.
The Blue Raiders swept the doubles point to begin the match. Seniors Claudia Szabo and Ann-Kristin Siljestrom defeated Patricia Cortes and Rebecca Van Den Houte 8-1. Then Kommireddi and freshman Shannon Hartmann took the point with their 8-2 win over Anne Weijenborg and Nathalia Garay.
"We have really put an emphasis on doubles the last few weeks and the girls have really gained confidence in their doubles play which really showed today," head coach Alison Ojeda said.
"We came out in singles and had three seniors who were just really not ready to go home. This is good because then they are ready to play but at the same time can be bad because they can get scared and not play to their full potential which did happen in a couple of matches," Ojeda said.
In singles play, junior Marlene Chemin lost her match 6-2, 6-0 to Cortes as the Trojans tied it at 1 all. Then Siljestrom fell 6-2, 6-2 to Laetitia Bourgeon allowing UALR to take a 2-1 lead.
Szabo evened the score with her 6-2, 6-1 win over Marta Gomez Jordana. Junior Andrea Herrera made it 3-2 as she defeated VanDen Houte 6-4, 6-2.
"Claudia won her singles match in straight sets to lead the team. Then she helped lead them the rest of the way with her confidence in talking them through the rest of the way," Ojeda said. "Andrea is just in her first year with us and had a close match today. She trailed to begin the match but then to pull out the set is great."
Parkison fell to Weijenborg 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, as UALR tied it at 3 before Kommireddi sealed the win for the Blue Raiders.
The Blue Raiders will face No. 1 seeded Denver on Saturday in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Championships hosted by ULM.
Singles
1. Laetitia Bourgeon (UALR) def. A.K. Siljestrom (MT) 6-2, 6-2
2. Anne Weijenborg (UALR) def. Stephanie Parkison (MT) 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
3. Claudia Szabo (MT) def. Marta Gomez Jordana (UALR) 6-2, 6-1
4. Patricia Cortes (UALR) def. Marlene Chemin (MT) 6-2, 6-0
5. Andrea Herrera (MT) def. Rebecca VanDen Houte (UALR) 6-4, 6-2
6. Pooja Kommireddi (MT) def. Nathalia Garay (UALR) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. Marlene Chemin/Stephanie Parkison (MT) vs. Laetitia Bourgeon/Marta Gomez Jordana (UALR) 4-4, unfinished
2. Claudia Szabo/A.K. Siljestrom (MT) def. Patricia Cortes/Rebecca VanDen Houte (UALR) 8-1
3. Pooja Kommireddi/Shannon Hartmann (MT) def. Anne Weijenborg/Nathalia Garay (UALR) 8-2
Match Notes:
UALR 11-12
Middle Tennessee 8-14
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,1,5,3,2,6)
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