April 1, 2005

Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 25th-ranked University of Tennessee Lady Vol tennis squad earned a 5-2 victory over No. 24 South Carolina in a Southeastern Conference match on Friday night. With the win, the Lady Vols improve to 12-5, 5-2 in SEC play, while the Fighting Gamecocks fell to 9-5, 4-3 in league action.

The doubles point would go down to the wire. At one point, No. 1 doubles saw UT with a 7-5 lead while the other two courts had 7-7 scores. The first contest to be completed saw junior Sabita Maharaj (Gainesville, Fla. / Buchholz H.S.) and freshman Bryce Marable (Darien, Ill. / Hinsdale South H.S.) hold on for an 8-5 victory over Christyn Lucas and Magda Wojdylo. The two weathered a comeback by the Fighting Gamecock duo from a 6-2 hole to trail 6-5 before the Lady Vol duo recorded the final two games.

Almost instantaneously, the other two matches ended. Tennessee earned the doubles point when freshman Daron Moore (North Hollywood, Calif. / Campbell Hall School) and senior Ashley Robards (Henderson, Ky. / Henderson County H.S.) took a narrow 9-7 decision over Miranda Gutierrez and Megan McGavock at three. The two were tied in the tight match six times, at 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

South Carolina took the No. 2 contest when Danielle Wiggins and Fallon Koon topped UT's pair of junior Melissa Schaub (Lexington, Ohio / Lexington H.S.) and freshman Ghizela Schutte (Ninapark, South Africa / Damelin College) by a 9-7 score. The Lady Vol duo came back from a 6-2 deficit to tie the contest, 7-7, before the USC pair took the final two games.

Sophomore Victoria Jones (Tyne & Wear, U.K. / South Tyneside College) earned a dominating 6-1, 6-2 victory at four singles to give UT a 2-0 advantage. She has now won 14-of-16 contests.

South Carolina took a point back at No. 3 singles as Gutierrez topped Marable by 6-2, 7-5 scores. The second set was tight throughout as the two were tied at 2, 3, 4 and 5.

No. 42 Maharaj ended a three-match losing streak with a 6-2, 7-5 win at No. 1 over Wiggins to give the Big Orange a 3-1 lead. Maharaj took a 4-1 advantage in the second set before holding on for the win.

Robards clinched the team win for the Lady Vols with a 6-3, 6-1 win at five over Koon. She has now compiled an 8-3 record in 2004-05.

As the team decision had been decided, the No. 2 contest went to a supertiebreaker. Sophomore Blakeley Griffith (Middleburg, Va. / Loudoun County H.S.) earned a 6-4, 5-7, (10-5) decision over Lucas.

In the final match to be completed, McGavock topped Schutte, 6-3, 3-6, (10-3).

"It was great for our team to have this win, especially after a tough weekend in Mississippi last week (4-3 win over Ole Miss and 4-2 loss to Mississippi State)," Co-Head Coach Mike Patrick said. "We bounced back tonight against a good South Carolina team and look forward to playing the next couple weeks."

Tennessee now looks to earn its first win all-time versus No. 9 Florida at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Gators will bring a 27-0 all-time record versus the Lady Vols into the contest. The Lady Vols will conclude their regular season with home contests versus No. 7 Vanderbilt (5 p.m. next Friday), No. 5 Kentucky (1 p.m. on April 10) and No. 3 Georgia (noon on April 16).

#25 Tennessee 5, #24 South Carolina 2
Singles competition:
1. #42 Sabita Maharaj (UT) def. Danielle Wiggins (USC)	6-2, 7-5
2. Blakeley Griffith (UT) def. Christyn Lucas (USC)	6-4, 5-7, 10-5
3. Miranda Gutierrez (USC) def. Bryce Marable (UT)	6-2, 7-5
4. Victoria Jones (UT) def. Magda Wojdylo (USC)	6-1, 6-2
5. Ashley Robards (UT) def. Fallon Koon (USC)	6-3, 6-1
6. Megan McGavock (USC) def. Ghizela Schutte (UT)	3-6, 6-3, 10-3
Doubles competition:
1. Sabita Maharaj/Bryce Marable (UT) def. Christyn Lucas/Magda Wojdylo (USC)	8-5
2. Fallon Koon/Danielle Wiggins (USC) def. Melissa Schaub/Ghizela Schutte (UT)	9-7
3. Daron Moore/Ashley Robards (UT) def. Miranda Gutierrez/Megan McGavock (USC)	9-7
Match Notes:
South Carolina 9-5, 4-3 SEC; National ranking #24
Tennessee 12-5, 5-2 SEC; National ranking #25
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,3,1,5,2,6)