TENNESSEE 2012 LADY VOL TENNIS MATCH TWENTY-FOUR
#21 TENNESSEE [13-10, 4-6 SEC] AT #8 GEORGIA [18-3, 8-2 SEC] APRIL 14, 2012 /// DAN MAGILL TENNIS COMPLEX /// ATHENS, GA.
PROJECTED LINEUPS TENNESSEE
GEORGIA
Head Coaches: Mike Patrick & Sonia Hahn-Patrick
Head Coach: Jeff Wallace
DOUBLES Name (Rank) 1. Pluskota/Szekely (8)
2012 Total (Dual) 14-1 (7-0)
Name (Rank) 2012 Total (Dual) 1. Gilchrist/Gullickson (18) 20-7 (10-6)
Pluskota & Szekely have won all seven dual matches and are 4-1 overall against ranked opponents...6-0 in SEC play.
1-2 (1-2)
2. Fuller/Herring
26-12 (13-6)
3. Henderson/Williams
3-1 (2-0)
3. Kimbell/Kowase
19-2 (17-0)
Name (Rank) 1. Natalie Pluskota (31)
2012 Total (Dual) 12-10 (4-5)
Name (Rank) 1. Chelsey Gullickson (6)
2012 Total (Dual) 30-7 (16-5)
2. Brynn Boren (27)
23-11 (15-6)
2. Lauren Herring (59)
28-7 (16-3)
3. Kata Szekely (53)
22-8 (15-6)
3. Nadja Gilchrist
18-8 (14-4)
4. Caitlyn Williams
9-6 (9-6)
4. Maho Kowase (60)
22-6 (14-5)
21 22 27 28
5. Joanna Henderson
11-13 (9-11)
5. Kate Fuller (92)
26-11 (14-7)
FEBRUARY
6. Jesse Grace
3-11 (3-11)
6. Lilly Kimbell
21-8 (16-3)
KATA SZEKELY
2. Boren/Grace
Boren and Grace are 1-2 together, with lone win coming over Auburn’s 36-ranked pair (Pfeifler/Schippers) to clinch dubs point. Tennessee may default third spot...Match-time decision...Both Henderson and Williams nursing injuries.
SINGLES Win over Kentucky was first singles action since March 11...Has won three of last four matches, including two ranked wins. Career-high seven-match winning streak snapped Sunday vs. Alabama...Has won 10 of 12 overall...3-0 vs. Georgia. Has won three straight and four of five... Has already set career-high with 22 singles wins...8-2 from No. 3 spot.
Match-time decision...Opened April with 6-1, 6-1 win vs. UK after missing two matches...Is 2-2 in SEC play...Missed last weekend. Match-time decision after twisting ankle vs. Auburn, forcing her to retire match in first set...Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week. Has played at spots 4-6...Two of last three losses have gone to third-set tiebreakers.
THE STORYLINES ITA RANKINGS
• Tennessee is now rated 21st in the nation in the latest Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings, released Tuesday (April 3). The Lady Vols have been ranked as high as fifth this season (Feb. 28). • Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely moved up 10 spots to No. 8 together, the highest ranking for both this season. • The Lady Vols are the only team with three duos ranked in the Top 25. • 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 played a full singles lineup last Sunday for the first time since March 11. UT was forced to play its previous three matches shorthanded. Brynn Boren, Natalie Pluskota, Caitlyn Williams and Sarah Toti were all limited with various injuries.
y SCORING SYSTEM
SCOUTING GEORGIA
• Ranked eighth, Georgia is Tennessee’s 20th ranked opponent (9-10), 14th Top 25 opponent (6-7) and seventh Top 12 foe (3-3) in 24 matches. • Georgia opened the season with seven straight wins and has won seven of its last eight. The Bulldogs are currently second in the SEC East. • Tennessee is 9-39 all-time against Georgia, but has won the last three meetings, its longest winning streak in the series. The Lady Vols knocked off UGa, 4-1, to advance to the 2011 SEC Championships in the most recent matchup. • UT has only won in Athens twice, including the most recent trip, a 4-2 win in 2010.
LAST WEEK
• Tennessee split the weekend, defeating No. 63 Auburn, 4-3, before falling to No. 11 Alabama, 6-1. Kata Szekely went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles.
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.)
SCHEDULE /// 2012 SEASON 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 L, 6-1
at Kentucky* W, 6-1 #63 Auburn* W, 4-3 #11 Alabama* L, 6-1 at #8 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
0
3
Dual-match losses for Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely together in doubles. The duo is 7-0 in dual-match play and 14-1 overall.
Tennessee’s current winning streak against Georgia, the Lady Vols’ longest in the all-time series.
11
Consecutive years that Tennessee and Georgia have been each other’s regular-season finale, a streak that ends this season.
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 March 28. • 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 46 of its 62 (.742) 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 19 out of 23 times. Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely began playing together since March 21 and are undefeated in dual-match play at 7-0. Brynn Boren and Sarah Toti have a team-high 25 total wins together. • 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 23 opponents this season, 19 have been ranked in the ITA poll at the time of the match. Additionally, UT has played six teams in the Top 12 and 13 schools in the Top 25. • Stacking up the Lady Vols against top-flight competition, UT has gone 9-10 against ranked opponents, 3-3 against Top 12 foes and 6-7 against Top 25 schools. • Four of UT’s losses are to teams currently ranked in the top eight (Florida-2, USC-4, UNC-5, & Alabama-7).
• Brynn Boren, Natalie Pluskota and Kata Szekely all registered their 50th career singles wins this season. Now, 43 Lady Vols all-time have reached the milestone.
• Freshman Sarah Toti had successful surgery last Friday (April 6) to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. Toti suffered the injury during doubles play of UT’s home match against Arkansas on March 25. • Toti finishes her freshman season 15-11 in singles and 26-7 in doubles (T-6th-most UT rookie wins).
STATS
VIDEO PREVIEW
For access to more info and links.
A link to the most updated Lady Vol stats.
Mike Patrick preview the weekend.
TENNESSEE ROSTER & RECORDS Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Brynn Boren (27/25) Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota (31/8 & 13) Kata Szekely (53/8) Sarah Toti (--/25) Caitlyn Williams (--/13)
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
GEORGIA ROSTER Name (Singles/Doubles Rank) Kate Fuller Nadja Gilchrist Chelsey Gullickson Lauren Herring Alina Jerjomina Kelli Jordan Lilly Kimbell Maho Kowase
Year So. Sr. Sr. Fr. So. Jr. So. So.
Hometown Suwanee, Ga. Webster, N.Y. Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Greenville, N.C. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Tifton, Ga. New Braunfels, Texas Kahiwa, Chiba, Japan
Head Coach Jeff Wallace | Associate Head Coach Frank Polito
Singles 23-11/15-6 3-11/3-11 11-13/9-11 12-10/4-5 22-8/15-6 15-11/9-8 9-6/9-6
TEAM
Team Tennessee
SINGLES
Name Brynn Boren Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely
DOUBLES
Names Pluskota/Szekely Pluskota/Williams Boren/Toti
Now 21
Prev. (4/3) 22
Now Prev. (3/27) 27 28 31 29 53 49 Now Prev. (3/27) 8 18 13 12 25 21
TRACKING TRENDS
SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
SCAN THESE NOW! MATCH CENTRAL
CURRENT ITA RANKINGS
Doubles 27-8/16-5 4-7/4-7 17-7/14-3 24-8/15-4 27-4/18-2 26-7/15-4 11-8/10-7
Brynn Boren reeled off a team and career-best seven straight singles wins, while Kata Szekely has won a team and season-high 10 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 -- 7 7 -- 2 2 -- 5 5 -- 4 5 3 5 6 1 4 4 1 4 4
Doubles Brynn Boren Jesse Grace Joanna Henderson Natalie Pluskota Kata Szekely Sarah Toti Caitlyn Williams
Now Season Career -- 15 15 -- 2 2 -- 6 6 8 8 16 10 10 18 -- 15 15 2 4 4
REACHING 100... On March 30 at Vanderbilt, Natalie Pluskota became 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. 103
y ONLINE SERVICES
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