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Senior Caitlin Whoriskey
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Feb. 14, 2010
By: Lindsey Williford, Media Relations Graduate Assistant
MADISON, Wis. - Coming off a victory over No. 9 Georgia Tech in its last match, the 13th-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team (5-2) came up just short of taking out another ranked squad, falling to No. 21 Florida State, 4-3, in the consolation rounds of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Team Indoors at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis.
UT continued to dominate doubles play, sweeping all three matches. Junior Rosalía Alda and partner senior Zsófia Zubor were first off the court with an 8-6 victory over FSU's Federica Suess and Katie Rybakova. Securing the doubles point for the Lady Vols was the No. 1 team of senior Caitlin Whoriskey and sophomore Natalie Pluskota. The two dominated Lauren McCreless and Francesca Segareli, 8-3.
Completing the sweep for Tennessee were sophomore Katie Lee and junior Maria Sorbello. Together, they downed Jessica Sucupira and Amy Sargeant, 8-6.
Zubor gave the Big Orange its second point of the match, after winning in straight-sets, 6-3, 6-1, over Suess. Zubor now boasts a dual-match record of 4-2, and a 14-6 overall singles record.
In the next singles match to finish, Rybakova downed 51st-ranked Sorbello in three sets at the No. 2 position to put Tennessee's lead back down to one point. After dropping the first set, 6-1, Sorbello battled back to take the second, 6-3, but was unable to overcome her opponent in set three as Rybakova came away with the win, 6-2.
Whoriskey, ranked sixth in the nation, also went three sets in her match against FSU's McCreless, but the outcome went to the Lady Vol. After pushing the first stanza into a tiebreaker, Whoriskey was able to take the necessary points and claim the set, 7-6. McCreless, however, refused to go down quickly, winning a lopsided second frame, 6-1. Whoriskey responded with a dominating 6-2 triumph in the final set to give UT its third and final point.
Florida State quickly took down Tennessee's next two competitors in straight-sets to tie the team score at 3-3. Lee fell to Sucupira, 6-0, 7-5, while Alda was defeated by FSU's 62nd-rated Segareli by a, 6-4, 6-2, score.
All eyes then turned to watch the competition-deciding third set between UT's Meredith and FSU's Sargeant, ranked No. 115 in singles. It was brought to that point after Meredith snagged the first frame, 6-2, and Sargeant cruised through the second set by the same score. Unfortunately for the Orange and White, Sargeant also came away with the third set, 6-1, securing the Seminoles come-from-behind victory and her first spring-season win.
With the win, Florida State moves to 4-3 on the season, while Tennessee falls to 5-2. The Lady Vols get a few days to rest before hitting the road again to battle No. 28 Ohio State at noon on Saturday, Feb. 20, and No. 45 Indiana the next day at 11 a.m.
No. 21 Florida State 4, No. 13 Tennessee 3
ITA National Team Indoor Championships (CONSOLATION)
February 14, 2010
Singles
1: No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey (UT) def. No. 23 Lauren McCreless (FSU) - 6-0, 7-5
2: Katie Rybakova (FSU) def. No. 51 Maria Sorbello (UT) - 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
3: No. 62 Francesca Segareli (FSU) def. Rosalía Alda (UT) - 6-4, 6-2
4: Zsófia Zubor (UT) def. Federica Suess (FSU) - 6-3, 6-1
5: No. 115 Amy Sargeant (FSU) def. Jennifer Meredith (UT) - 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
6: Jessica Sucupira (FSU) def. Katie Lee (UT) - 7-6, 1-6, 6-2
Order of finish: (4, 2, 6, 3, 1, 5*)
Doubles
1: No. 1 Caitlin Whoriskey/Natalie Pluskota (UT) def. Lauren McCreless/Francesca Segareli (FSU) - 8-3
2: Rosalía Alda/Zsófia Zubor (UT) def. Federica Suess/Katie Rybakova (FSU) - 8-6
3: Katie Lee/Maria Sorbello (UT) def. Jessica Sucupira/Amy Sargeant (FSU) - 8-6
Order of finish: (2, 1, 3)
* Clinching point
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