April 4, 2010

STARKVILLE, Miss.--The No. 14-ranked Tennessee women's tennis team (12-6, 6-2 SEC) rebounded from Friday's loss to defeat No. 72 Mississippi State, 7-0, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Sunday.

The win was UT's sixth straight over the Bulldogs. Co-head coach Mike Patrick now boasts a 26-1 record against MSU all-time.

Patrick said the victory was important for his team's confidence, especially with a stretch of tough matches ahead.

"Every win in the conference is critical," Patrick said. "We're glad we came back and played well today. We can build off of today and hopefully we can get our injured parts back. It's not the ideal time to try to get people prepared but that's what we've got to do. We've got to continue to get better and get ourselves ready for the postseason. Hopefully we can get ready and do some damage there."

Tennessee will host two ranked opponents next weekend, including No. 3 Florida on Friday. UT then closes out the 2009-10 regular season with a trip to No. 13 Georgia on April 17.

The Lady Vols began today's match by taking the doubles point for the 15th time in 18 contests. The nation's No. 66 doubles pair, Caitlin Whoriskey and Maria Sorbello, dominated Radka Ferancova and Danielle Terpko of Mississippi State, 8-0.

Rosalía Alda and Zsófia Zubor, the No. 22 duo in the latest ITA poll, clinched the point for the Big Orange with an 8-5 victory over Olesya Tsingvintseva and Natalia Mayuk.

Jennifer Meredith, a junior from Marietta, Ga., started things off for the Orange and White with an impressive 6-2, 6-0 victory over Mariia Ryzhova of MSU at the No. 5 singles spot.

Whoriskey continued her torrid pace in singles play, thrashing Ferancova, 6-0, 6-0. The East Sandwich, Mass. native has now won four straight SEC matches and is just one victory away from cracking the top 15 on Tennessee's all-time singles wins list. She boasts a career record of 84-47.

Junior Maria Sorbello snapped a two-match losing streak, defeating Tsingvintseva, 6-1, 6-2. Sorbello's victory clinched the match for UT.

At the fourth singles spot, senior Zsófia Zubor outlasted Valeriya Makarycheva, 6-3, 6-2.

Freshman Kata Szekely earned her first singles win of the spring with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Terpko. The Szekesferhervar, Hungary native has been battling an injury since the fall.

"We've played without a sixth player for a few matches this year," Patrick said. "To have one as good as Kata is helpful. Getting her back and ready for the stretch run is important to us."

Alda completed the sweep for UT, defeating Natalia Mayuk, 6-4, 6-1 in No. 3 singles.

The Lady Vols return home for two matches this week. Tennessee faces off against No. 3 Florida at 4 p.m. Friday before taking on No. 19 South Carolina at 1 p.m. Sunday. In the match against the Gamecocks, UT will celebrate senior day.

#14 Tennessee 7, #72 Mississippi State 0

Doubles
No. 1 - #67 Caitlin Whoriskey/Maria Sorbello (UT) def. Radka Ferankova/Danielle Terpko (MSU) 8-0
No. 2 - Rosalia Alda/Zsofia Zubor (UT) def. Natalia Mayuk/Olesya Tsigivntseva (MSU) 8-5
No. 3 - Valeriya Makarycheva/Mariia Ryzhova (MSU) def. Katie Lee/Kata Szekely (UT) 8-6
Order of Finish: (1,2,3)

Singles
No. 1 - # 11 Whoriskey (UT) def. Ferancova (MSU) 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 - #66 Sorbello (UT) def. Tsigivntseva (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Alda (UT) def. Mayuk (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 - Zubor (UT) def. Makarycheva (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 - Meredith (UT) def. Ryzhova (MSU) 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 - Szekely (UT) def. Terpko (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: (5, 1, 2*, 4, 6, 3)

*indicates clinching point