The women's tennis team (7-5, 3-1 SEC) split this weekend's games, dominating unranked Kentucky (2-13, 0-5 SEC) at home Friday 5-2, but falling to No. 29 Vanderbilt (9-6, 4-2 SEC) on the road Sunday, 7-0. The sun shone on the Yarbrough Tennis Center Friday as the Tigers took on a Kentucky team winless in SEC play. Senior Myrthe Molenveld said playing Kentucky wasn't as stress free as fans may have thought.
"I think we felt pressure because we were expected to win, but I think everybody stepped up and took care of business," Molenveld said. "If we weren't sharp, things could have gone the other way." In doubles play, seniors Fani Chifchieva and Jil Hastenrath won the first match of the day, 8-1, followed by an 8-0 win by freshmen Plamena Kurteva and Paulina Schippers.
Kentucky took No. 1 doubles as the Wildcat's Caroline Lilley and Minette Pienaar struggled against Auburn's Molenveld and freshman Caroline Thornton to win, 8-5. Coach Tim Gray said he felt the Kentucky team was a little beat up, but has great players.
"I think the doubles point was critical, but we did a good job, stepped up and did what we needed to do," Gray said. "Kentucky has a good team and they fought hard, but our girls matched the intensity and stepped up when they needed to." In singles action, Hastenrath quickly blanked her opponent, 6-0, 6-0.
Schippers wasn't far behind her, defeating Kentucky's Nicole Scates 6-2, 6-1. Chifchieva, ranked No. 46 at the time, faced another nationally ranked opponent with the Wildcat's Megan Broderick, No. 123. Chifchieva downed Broderick, 6-3, 6-1, to clinch the match. Molenveld struggled against her opponent, dropping the first set, 6-2. She fought back to bring the second set to a tiebreaker, which she lost, 8-6.
Molenveld said even though Auburn had already won, she still wanted to win for her team. "Every match was pretty close and we had some ties in the second set," Molenveld said. "I fought back really hard and actually had a set point, but I just couldn't close it out." Sunday, the Tigers traveled north to face another SEC opponent.
Vanderbilt dominated at home, shutting out Auburn and only allowing one win, the doubles pair of Chifchieva and Hastenrath. Molenveld said losing the doubles point was a blow for the Tigers. "You have a 1-0 lead when you win the doubles point," Molenveld said. "It is different to be ahead, than to be on the other side of that."
Hastenrath came the closest to an Auburn victory, falling to Rachel Dillon, 5-7, 6-3, 13-11, in a tie-breaker. No. 46 Chifchieva lost to No. 38 Catherine Newman, 6-4, 7-5. The women return to action tomorrow, traveling to Arkansas (12-6, 2-4 SEC) to play the Razorbacks at noon. Arkansas is coming off a three-game losing streak, the most current loss at the hands of Tennessee, 3-4.
The Tigers stay on the road Sunday, traveling to Baton Rouge, La., to play another noon match against LSU. LSU is also on a three-game losing streak and will play Alabama tomorrow. Molenveld said the team is ready to get back into action. "The ride will be long and it will be a long weekend, but we always have fun together," Molenveld said. "I think everybody is fired up and ready to play these games."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
