May 23, 2005

ATHENS, Ga. - Lady Vol junior Sabita Maharaj fell to Zuzana Zemenova of Baylor, 7-6, 6-3, in the opening round of the 2005 NCAA Singles Championship in Athens, Ga., on Monday afternoon.

"Sabita had a great chance in the first set," Lady Vol Co-Head Coach Mike Patrick said. "She played a good match against a strong opponent and I'm proud of her effort."

Maharaj pushed Zemenova to a tiebreak in set one, but was unable to come up with a win. From that point, Zemenova hit her stride and advanced to a second round matchup with Aniela Mojzis of North Carolina on Tuesday.

The selection to the singles field was the second consecutive for the Gainesville, Fla. native, who was defeated in the first round of the 2004 Championships, 6-3, 6-1 by Michelle DaCosta of Michigan. Maharaj avenged the loss earlier this season as she downed the then-44th-ranked DaCosta, 6-4, 6-4, in UT's 5-0 win over the Wolverines on Feb. 13.

As a team, the Lady Volunteers concluded their season in the second round of the NCAA Championships.