TENNESSEE 2012 LADY VOL TENNIS MATCH TWENTY
#19 TENNESSEE [11-8, 2-4 SEC] VS. #25 VANDERBILT [12-6, 4-2 SEC] MARCH 28, 2012 /// BROWNLEE O. CURREY JR. TENNIS CENTER /// NASHVILLE, TENN.
PROJECTED LINEUPS TENNESSEE
VANDERBILT
Head Coaches: Mike Patrick & Sonia Hahn-Patrick
Head Coach: Geoff Macdonald
DOUBLES Name (Rank) 1. Pluskota/Szekely (18)
2012 Total (Dual) 10-1 (3-0)
Name (Rank) 1. Antal/Mira
2012 Total (Dual) 4-3 (3-3)
Doubles lineups are match-time decision...Pluskota and Szekely have won all three dual-match contests, all in last week.
2. Boren/Williams
0-0 (0-0)
2. Leatu/Wu
7-8 (7-8)
3. Henderson/Grace
1-0 (1-0)
3. Casares/Radeva
5-1 (5-1)
Boren hasn’t played with anyone but Sarah Toti this season...Would mark fourth different partner for Williams.
Tandem clinched Tennessee’s most recent doubles point vs. Arkansas with 8-6 win...Henderson has won career-high six straight.
KATA SZEKELY
SINGLES
SCHEDULE /// 2012 SEASON
Name (Rank) 1. Natalie Pluskota (29)
2012 Total (Dual) 10-9 (2-4)
Name (Rank) 1. Jackie Wu (34)
2012 Total (Dual) 21-8 (12-6)
2. Brynn Boren (28)
20-10 (12-5)
2. Lauren Mira (104)
23-9 (11-5)
3. Kata Szekely (49)
19-7 (12-5)
3. Marie Casares (106)
17-8 (7-7)
4. Joanna Henderson
10-11 (8-9)
4. Alex Leatu
12-8 (11-7)
21 22 27 28
5. Jesse Grace
3-7 (3-7)
5. Ashleigh Antal
19-4 (14-3)
FEBRUARY
6. --
--
6. Nelly Radeva
20-7 (16-2)
Match-time decision...Hasn’t played singles since March 11 vs. Mississippi St., when she reached her 50th career win.
Won 50th career match Sunday, returning from two-match illness absence...Can match season-high win streak of 5 with win. Can become third Lady Vol in 2012 to notch 50th career win...Is 8-4 vs. ranked opponents this season...Has won four of six overall. Has lost two in a row after winning two straight...Two of last three matches have gone to three sets...2-Time SEC Freshman of Week Has played at spots 4-6...Grace is 1-1 from No. 5 position...Antal has won six of seven. Tennessee projected to default No. 6 position.
THE STORYLINES ITA RANKINGS
• Tennessee is now rated 19th in the nation in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings, released Tuesday (March 27), The Lady Vols have been ranked as high as fifth this season (Feb. 28). • UT is one of five schools with at least three players ranked in the Top 50 (Boren-28, Pluskota-29, Szekely-49). • The Lady Vols are the only team with three duos ranked in the Top 21. • For a more detailed look at where UT stacks up in the latest rankings, check out the top right corner of Page 2.
INJURY BUG
• Tennessee has been forced to play its last three matches without a full singles lineup. Brynn Boren, Natalie Pluskota, Caitlyn Williams and Sarah Toti were all limited with various injuries.
y SCORING SYSTEM
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
• Ranked 25th, Vanderbilt is Tennessee’s 18th ranked opponent in 20 matches. Additionally, the Commodores are UT’s 12 Top 25 foe. • Vanderbilt has split its last four matches after winning four straight. Last weekend, VU lost to Alabama and defeated Auburn, both by a 5-2 margin. • Tennessee is 33-20 all-time against Vanderbilt, but the Commodores hold an 11-7 advantage in Nashville. • Vanderbilt ended Tennessee’s 2011 season, defeating the Lady Vols, 4-3, in Knoville last May in the NCAA Tournament. UT had won the previous three meetings.
LAST WEEK
• With the injury bug (see left), Tennessee found itself on the losing end of three straight matches last week, two of which still only came by a 4-3 defeat despite playing shorthanded.
New to the college game? All that matters is which team gets to four points first. In dual matches, teams first play a best-of-three doubles competition. Whichever team wins two of the three matches earns one point. Teams then play six singles matches, each worth one point. The team that takes four of the seven total available points wins the match. (Note: Doubles matches are eight-game pro sets. Singles matches are best-of-three sets.)
JANUARY
3 5 10 11 12 17 19 25
MARCH 2 4 9 11 21 23 25 30
APRIL
1 6 8 14 19-22
vs. #9 Virginia1 vs. #4 North Carolina1 #58 UC Davis^ #22 Tulsa^
L, 4-3 L, 5-2 W, 5-0 W, 4-0
#24 Notre Dame #10 Michigan vs. #5 Baylor+2 vs. #16 USC+2 vs. #12 Northwestern+2 at Indiana at #64 Ohio State at UCF
W, 6-1 W, 5-2 W, 4-0 L, 4-1 W, 4-3 W, 5-2 W, 4-3 W, 7-0
#15 Florida* #22 South Carolina* at #25 Ole Miss* at Mississippi State* at #67 UNLV at #49 LSU* #37 Arkansas* at #25 Vanderbilt*
L, 7-0 W, 4-3 L, 5-2 W, 7-0 L, 4-3 L, 5-2 L, 4-3 5 p.m.
at Kentucky* Noon Auburn* 5 p.m. Alabama* 1 p.m. at Georgia* Noon 3 SEC Championships TBD
MAY
11-12 NCAA First & Second Rounds 17-28 NCAA Championships: Final Site4 23-28 NCAA Championships: Singles/Doubles4 ^ ITA Kick-Off; *SEC match, + ITA National Indoors 1 Flushing, N.Y.; 2Charlottesville, Va.; 3Oxford, Miss.; 4 Athens, Ga.
FACTS BOX /// BY THE NUMBERS
5
Five of UT’s 11 wins have come via shutouts, including the Lady Vols’ most recent win, a 7-0 decision vs. Mississippi State.
11
Opponents Tennessee has played ranked in the Top 25 in the Lady Vols’ first 19 matches. UT has won six of those.
.895
Percentage of overall doubles points that Tennessee has won, coming away victorious in 17 of 19 attempts.
MORE NOTES: SEC FRESHMEN OF THE WEEK
• Three Lady Vols have been honored with SEC Freshman of the Week (Joanna Henderson, Sarah Toti and Caitlyn Williams), tying the conference record. • Toti was recognized as the SEC Freshman of the Week in each the first three weeks of the season. • Williams and Henderson won in back-to-back efforts (March 7, 14), while Henderson also won the award this past Wednesday. • Toti is the first women’s tennis student-athlete to earn any kind of player of the week distinction three weeks in a row. She matched doubles partner Brynn Boren’s UT record of three overall freshman of the week awards, which Boren accomplished in 2011.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
• Tennessee has been stellar in doubles action thus far, winning 40 of its 53 (.755) overall matches. The Lady Vols won the doubles point in their first 12 contests, marking a program record to open the season, and have won it 17 out of 19 times. The duo of Brynn Boren and Sarah Toti lead UT at 14-3, while Joanna Henderson and Kata Szekely are 11-2, and Natalie Pluskota and Caitlyn Williams are 7-4. • Pluskota and Williams have knocked off two top five doubles squads this season. Pluskota and Williams have defeated No. 3 Christian/Santamaria (USC) and No. 5 Frilling/Mathews (Notre Dame).
CLUB 50
BATTLE TESTED
• Out of Tennessee’s 19 opponents this season, 16 have been ranked in the ITA poll at the time of the match. Additionally, UT has played four teams in the Top 10 and 11 schools in the Top 25. • Stacking up the Lady Vols against top-flight competition, UT has gone 8-8 against ranked opponents, 3-2 against Top 12 foes and 6-5 against Top 25 schools. • Three of UT’s five losses are to teams currently ranked in the top eight (Florida-2, USC-3 & UNC-8).
• Natalie Pluskota registered her 50th career win with a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 decision over Mississippi State’s Andrea Perper (ranked 91st) on March 11, while Brynn Boren accomplished the feat two weeks later with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Arkansas’ Emily Carbone. • Kata Szekely can reach the milestone with her next win.
SCAN THESE NOW! MATCH CENTRAL
STATS
BLOG
A link to the most updated Lady Vol stats.
For the latest on Tennessee Lady Vol Tennis.
For access to more info and links.
TENNESSEE ROSTER & RECORDS Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Brynn Boren (28/21) Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota (29/12 & 18) Kata Szekely (49/18) Sarah Toti (--/21) Caitlyn Williams (--/12)
Year So. Fr. Fr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Fr.
Ht. 5-9 5-6 5-11 5-10 5-6 5-10 5-8
Hometown Laguna Niguel, Calif. Germiston, South Africa Aberdeen, Scotland Newnan, Ga. Szekesfehervar, Hungary Las Vegas, Nev. Knoxville, Tenn.
Co-Head Coaches: Mike Patrick and Sonia Hahn-Patrick (15th season) Volunteer Assistant Coach: Mario Toledo
VANDERBILT ROSTER Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Ashleigh Antal (--/70) Marie Casares (106/--) Megan Gornet Alex Leatu (--/62) Elizabeth Liliie Lauren Mira (104/27) Nelly Radeva Jackie Wu (34/27 & 62)
Year Fr. Fr. Sr. So. Sr. So. Jr. Sr.
Hometown Wilmington, N.C. Quito, Ecuador St. Louis, Mo. Littleton, Colo. Rochester, Mich. Baton Rouge, La. Newport Beach, Calif. Holmdel, N.J.
Head Coach Michael Hegarty | Assistant Coach Aleke Tsoubanos
Singles 20-10/12-5 3-7/3-7 10-11/8-9 10-9/2-4 19-7/12-5 15-11/9-8 8-6/8-6
Doubles 25-6/14-3 3-4/3-4 17-6/14-2 20-8/11-4 23-4/14-2 26-7/15-4 10-8/9-7
CURRENT ITA RANKINGS /// MARCH 27 TEAM
Team Tennessee
SINGLES
Name Brynn Boren Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely
DOUBLES
Names Pluskota/Williams Pluskota/Szekely Boren/Toti
Now Prev. (3/20) 19 12 Now Prev. (3/13) 28 25 29 29 49 37 Now Prev. (3/13) 12 15 18 21 21 12
TRACKING TRENDS Brynn Boren has reeled off a current team-best four straight singles wins, while Joanna Henderson has won a career-high six consecutive in doubles. Here’s a look at Lady Vol winning streaks: Singles Brynn Boren Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely Sarah Toti Caitlyn Williams
Now Season Career 4 5 (2x) 6 -- 2 2 -- 5 5 1 4 5 1 5 6 1 4 4 -- 4 4
Doubles Brynn Boren Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely Sarah Toti Caitlyn Williams
Now Season Career -- 15 15 1 2 2 6 6 6 4 7 16 6 9 18 -- 15 15 2 4 4
CHASING 100... With one more doubles victory, Natalie Pluskota can become the eighth Lady Vol in UT history to record 100 doubles wins. Name Years Doubles Wins 1. Paula Kelly 1978-82 156 Peta Kelly 1978-82 156 3. Crystal Cleveland 1999-2003 119 4. Caitlin Whoriskey 2006-10 113 5. Rosalia Alda 2007-11 110 6. Zsofia Zubor 2006-10 106 7. Alison Ojeda 1998-2002 105 8. Natalie Pluskota 2008-Pres. 99
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