Women's Tennis Inks 5-2 Opening Victory

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's women's tennis team won all three doubles matches and the bottom four singles tilts, defeating UT-San Antonio, 5-2, Friday afternoon for a season-opening victory in San Antonio, Texas.

The women swept the three doubles matches and won singles outings at Nos. 3-6, all in straight set, giving first-year head coach Alison Ojeda a victory in the team's first match of the year.

"Winning sure makes everything more exciting," Ojeda said. "I thought we played very well. We've been stressing ever since September what it's like to compete, to play smart tennis and not just go for everything. We wanted to play basic tennis and the girls did a really good job of that today."

In doubles, Ann-Kristin Siljestrom and Pooja Kommireddi defeated Monika Drabkova and Sandra Kukla at No. 3, 8-2, before Claudia Szabo and Elvira Yusupova won 8-3 at No. 2 over Barbara Mooney and Nathalie Wallin. The final match went to a tiebreaker, with Kelly Adams and Marlene Chemin defeated Tanya Hasking and Karen Scida, 9-8 (4), at No. 1.

In singles action, UTSA won the top two singles outings. Wallin won 6-1, 6-4, over Chemin at No. 1, while Kukla defeated Szabo, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 2.

But the Blue Raiders won the final four matches in the lineup, all handily.

Yusupova won 6-1, 6-2, over Drabkova at No. 3, while Siljestrom defeated Scida at No. 4, 6-0, 6-3. Adams was a 6-1, 6-4, winner over Mooney at No. 5, and Kommireddi defeated Hasking at No. 6, 6-3, 6-4.

In a schedule change, Middle Tennessee plays UT-Pan Am Saturday at 3 p.m. in San Antonio. The match was originally scheduled for Sunday.

Middle Tennessee 5, UT-San Antonio 2
SINGLES
1. Nathalie Wallin (UTSA) def. Marlene Chemin (MT), 6-1, 6-4
2. Sandra Kukla (UTSA) def. Claudia Szabo (MT), 6-4, 6-1
3. Elvira Yusupova (MT) def. Monika Drabkova (UTSA), 6-1, 6-2
4. Ann-Kristin Siljestrom (MT) def. Karen Scida (UTSA), 6-0, 6-3
5. Kelly Adams (MT) def. Barbara Mooney (UTSA), 6-1, 6-4
6. Pooja Kommireddi (MT) def. Tanya Hasking (UTSA), 6-3, 6-4

DOUBLES
1. Adams-Chemin (MT) def. Hasking-Scida (UTSA), 9-8 (4)
2. Szabo-Yusupova (MT) def. Mooney-Wallin (UTSA), 8-3
3. Kommireddi-Siljestrom (MT) def. Drabkova-Kukla (UTSA), 8-2

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